World Crossing
by pgasniper
Summary: "Unless you can stop it, in five months time our worlds will face their biggest crisis: either they will be fused together, or all dimensions will be completely annihilated. You humans, along with the Smashers are our only hope to stop this crisis."
1. The happy-go-lucky world of Nintendo!

**Disclaimer: Due to this being Fanfiction, I don't own Smash Brothers, Nintendo, Sonic the Hedgehog, Metal Gear Solid, Mega Man, Pac-Man, or any other properties that may show up in this fic. I will only own the OC's.  
**

**Other stuff:**

**Well, I'm not going to bore you with the author notes / intro, so I'll make it really quick:**

**Welcome to World Crossing! It's a sequel to one of my other stories Trapped in the Brawl. While it's not really required to read, that story does have some background information, world building and all that fun stuff, and I personally think of it as an extended prologue. (Laughs nervously)**

**So, this will be my foray into the whole, "Normal Human teams up with Smashers, to fight evil, and crossover into other video games for an adventure" Subgenre of fics that this section has no shortage of.**

**As you know, OC's are the nature of the beast of these fics, and this one is no different. Long story short: There are OC's. I've taken measures so that the Smashers won't disappear completely from the fic.**

**That's all I want to say right now, I'll save everything else for later down below.**

**But, let's start with the overly pretentious quote!**

* * *

_What if everything that you see, is more than what you see? The person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a door to another world? _

_What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it or accept that there is more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things._

_~ Shigeru Miyamoto_

* * *

Chapter 1: The happy-go-lucky world of Nintendo!

There are other worlds and dimensions out there, but not everybody knows that they exist. Those that do unfortunately can't normally interact with them. A man named Nugai has two theories on how these other worlds and dimensions came to be.

The first, he said in this world there are those who are able to create other worlds. These people he has called the Makers. But, tragically, these Makers don't know that they have this power. They just continue their normal days, making the world either through writing a book, comic book, movie, TV series, programming a game, or creating any other form of media, or just through day dreaming.

The other way, he speculated, is that these worlds always existed, and that the Makers were able to access them on a subconscious level. They visited the world that they would then 'create' through their dreams, or just knew from a sudden flash of inspiration and created that world for human consumption. Tragically, they were still unable to fully go into those worlds. They just had their brief flashes. He leaned towards this theory, because the subconscious of others also seemed to affect the worlds, but he didn't know if it truly was them affecting the world, or the worlds affecting us.

Nugai, was apart of another group that he had dubbed the Travelers. Unlike the Makers they were a group of people who could freely crossover into the new worlds, for a time.

But not all Travelers knew they had this power.

Some people, who vanish off of the face of the earth with out a trace, have this ability. In some cases, they were found days, weeks, months, or even years later, and they were different. Some acted like shell-shocked veterans. Others were just perfectly fine. They said that they had visited a fantasy world. They would either think that it was a dream, or they were swiftly silenced. Those that seeped through the cracks were lucky. However, no one believed them. After all they sounded far too crazy.

* * *

"You met Mario? Geeze, you really shouldn't have drank all that much last night."

"But, I didn't have anything."

"Yeah right. You just got so plastered that you thought everything was coming out of the TV."

"But... it actually happened."

* * *

"What?! You were going through the Pokemon world?"

"Yeah, I was running through the fields, I had a Pikachu following me!"

"Geeze, next he's going to tell us his uncle works at Nintendo."

"Yeah. He's just trying to get attention. Let's leave him alone"

* * *

"Running through Green Hill zone is so amazing! The wind is just pushing your back!"

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"I went into Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"What? Come on, you were just running in that giant field behind your house, weren't you?"

* * *

Yes, those who told others were almost immediately dismissed, as just overactive imaginative children, drunkards, or just plain insane. But there were two who didn't follow this pattern. One became known as Nugai, and the other became known as The Reaper.

"Something happened!" Nugai said.

"Oh? What?" The Reaper asked.

"Okay, look, this is going to sound completely crazy, but I went inside the TV and into the video game."

"Geeze, everyone at school is right, you are obsessed with video games."

"I'm telling you the truth, and I can prove it!" Nugai said.

"Yeah right." The Reaper scoffed.

And just like that Nugai placed his hand on the TV Screen. The solid glass soon became like liquid and he went into the TV. He came out and dragged the Reaper in.

How would of things been different if this event had never occurred?

Who knows? They probably would have grown up normally and gotten boring 9-5 jobs.

Years passed, and then a tragedy occurred, The Reaper 'died' in a car accident, as a last ditch effort to save himself he used his power to go into the other world and received treatment there, but soon found out that he could not return. Nugai, who had forced himself to forget about the other world, was dragged in one day, where he had to fight against his old friend The Reaper. And then uncovering a conspiracy under the name of "Project Fantasia" that would fuse all the dimensions into one, allowing anyone access to what they believed to be fictional worlds.

Eventually Nugai was able to return back to his normal world, with some minor edits. He was able to temporarily block access to the other dimensions, but he knew one day, at least seven years from that adventure, the seal would break, as there were those on his side who wished to profit from the worlds fusing.

And now, something is beginning, almost 7 years after Nugai was dragged in and defeated the Reaper, the barrier that he set up between worlds had weakened greatly.

This is the story of a small group of people who can cross dimensions, and their fight to protect both sides. This is the struggle of the Smashers, to prevent complete and total destruction of all existence. This is the story of a man who simply wished to save lives.

But above all else, this is the story of Project Fantasia.

* * *

In a mansion, overlooking a city, a group of people known as the Smashers live. They were united by a being known as Master Hand, for the purpose of defeating evil and protecting their worlds. Their age, or even former alliance didn't matter; they were just people, or even robots, connected by the goal of defeating evil.

But for right now they were relaxing. Outside, the kid Smashers were playing a game of soccer. The kid Smashers was a subset within the Smashers, a group consisting of the younger Smashers. They included a blonde boy named Lucas, a black haired kid with a baseball cap named Ness, a blonde swordsman named Toon Link, a boy in a bluish purplish parka named Popo, a girl in a pink parka named Nana, and another boy named Red.

There was also another boy who wasn't a Smasher, but was playing with them, he was a brown haired boy strangely named Villager, despite his young age and strange name, most people are shocked to find out that he is actually a mayor of a nearby village called Smashville.

There was also another boy named Rock. He also wasn't a Smasher, but was a robot from the nearby Light Laboratories. Dr. Light had created him, and his sister Roll, a blonde haired robot that wore a red dress and was currently sitting on the sidelines cheering them on. They came over to the Smashers' occasionally on Dr. Light's request for interaction with humans.

Currently the group of kids were just playing a game of soccer, or at least they were trying to. The game had degenerated into who could hit the ball the hardest without actually breaking it. Ness jumped up, high into the air to intercept the ball and then kicked it back towards a makeshift goalie net. The soccer ball was now suddenly on fire. It was the result of Ness having mixed in some psychic energy to his kick. He just waited to see if anyone was brave enough to try and block it. Ness just glanced down at Lucas and Popo, he figured those two would be the only ones able to do it.

But, suddenly, someone covered in a cloak jumped out of the nearby forest and stopped the ball with his barefoot. The air seemed to ripple from the two colliding, and then the person and the soccer ball landed gracefully on the ground.

The kid Smashers stared in shock at the newcomer. He just lightly kicked the ball back to them. The kid Smashers were a bit confused, and shocked by his sudden appearance. Not to mention there was the fact that he was barefoot, and having just come from a forest.

"Hello, I'm sorry for intruding, but I'm looking for Master Hand." He said.

They were all a bit apprehensive about the strange person's sudden appearance. Not to mention with how he intercepted the ball, they could tell that he wasn't normal. Ness, a psychic, tried to read his mind, but quickly found it was blocked. He quickly pulled out a baseball bat that he had concealed somewhere and glared at the newcomer. The other kid Smashers followed suit and pulled out some weapons. "V, Rock, get back." Ness said, with a surprising amount of authority in his voice. The two just quickly complied; figuring out the person was dangerous. "Who are you? And why can't I read your mind?"

"Is that what you were trying to do?" the cloaked person said a bit surprised. "I'm sorry, I just naturally block out all psychics now."

"You're not normal." Ness said.

"You're right, I'm not," the cloaked person said. He raised up his arms and hands so that they visible and not being concealed by the rather baggy cloak. "Please, I mean you no harm."

"Can you prove it?" Ness said.

"Beyond that you're all still alive?" The cloaked person said. "You there, Lucas, why don't you go to Master Hand and tell him that someone named Nugai would like to meet with him."

Lucas looked rather shocked. "How do you know my name?"

"I know all about you Smashers." Nugai said. "Ness, Nana, Popo, Red, Toon Link..."

They were just stunned at how the person they had never met before knew them.

"And you must be Villager and Mega Man." Nugai said. "My cousin won't shut up about you guys."

They just stood there and looked at the cloaked figure confused. "Are you even sane?" Toon Link asked.

"Some would say no." Nugai replied. "So, Lucas are you going to get Master Hand or not?"

"He's not your carrier pigeon." Ness snapped. "We don't even know what you look like underneath that cloak, whether you're hiding any weapons or not. Toon, why don't you get that cloak off of him!?"

Toon Link pulled out a giant leaf and then sent a gust of wind that blew away the cloak.

The person underneath didn't react. He just let the hood fly down and the cape fly back. It stayed on him, mainly because his arms were in the sleeves still. Nugai was wearing rather casual clothing. A pair of jeans, and a black t-shirt. As for his face, he had rather long dark hair, but it looked like it was kind of greasy, that he hadn't seen a shower in a few days. He also had a beard starting to grow, mainly because he hadn't shaved in a week.

"So do I get to see Master Hand now?" Nugai wondered. "Or are you going to frisk me for any concealed weapons too?"

"Fine, Lucas, go get him." Ness said.

Lucas just nodded and ran off to the Smash Mansion. Nugai on the other hand sat down on the grass. The Kid Smashers didn't resume their game of soccer. They just edged away from Nugai and made it extremely clear that they didn't trust him in the slightest and were on the look out for any funny moves.

A few minutes later Lucas came back. "Master Hand said he wasn't seeing anyone..."

Nugai let off a heavy sigh. He got up, not exactly looking amused. "I don't have time for this." He muttered to himself. He glanced at the kid Smashers. "Ness, lead the way to Master Hand's office." his tone had drastically changed; he had made it abundantly clear that it wasn't a request. It was an order.

Ness however either didn't pick up on it, or was really getting tired of this person. "No, leave. You're clearly not someone important."

Nugai just disappeared. The next thing Ness knew was that he was on the ground looking up at the sky. Nugai was stepping on him and had a sword out right by his neck. "You misunderstood, that wasn't a request."

The other Smashers were too shocked to react. Ness just stared terrified at Nugai. As for Nugai, there was a certain look of sadness in his face, as though it pained him to do this. Ten seconds had passed and Popo was the first to react. "Hey, get off of Ness!" He shouted bringing out a hammer and rushing towards Nugai. Popo swung the hammer with his full strength, however Nugai just blocked the attack with his hand. Popo didn't follow through with any other attacks he just fell to his knees absolutely terrified.

"Hey get off of Ness!" Nana shouted running towards Nugai.

"Stop!" Popo shouted. The cry of her brother froze the other ice climber. She looked at Popo. "He's too powerful..."

She didn't attempt another attack.

The sword in Nugai's hand then vanished. "Ness, will you take me to Master Hand's office." Nugai said, stepping off of his stomach and extending his arm downwards.

Ness just nodded, and took his hand, Nugai just pulled him up. "Follow me."

Nugai just followed Ness as they went towards the mansion.

Nana just rushed up to her brother. "Why did you stop me?" She asked.

Popo just shook his head. "That guy... as soon as he blocked my attack, I could feel how strong he was. He may even dwarf Master Hand in power..."

Ness occasionally glanced back to see if Nugai was still following him. Nugai had put his hood back up over his head. "You're crying..." Ness said.

"Guess even if I block out your psychic abilities there are just some things that I can't hide."

"Why are you crying?" Ness asked.

"You reminded me of an old friend, and just you not recognizing me made that fear of the old friend not recognizing me come out." Nugai replied.

"What was his name?"

"Lane." Nugai replied.

They got to the front door of the mansion. Ness just opened it and the two of them walked through the hallways, occasionally passing another Smasher. They would look at Nugai suspiciously, but Ness just reassured them that it was okay, or at least he hoped that it was okay. In one of the hallways, Ness tried to at least get some small talk out of him. "Just who are you?" Ness wondered. "You blocked that soccer ball with your bare foot?"

"I didn't just use my barefoot." Nugai said. "I used Aura to protect my foot, and cancel the blast."

"Still, that probably required a great amount of skill!" Ness said. "Where did you learn aura mastery like that?"

"A Lucario taught me." Nugai said.

"Wow, that's cool!" Ness said.

They finally made it to two large doors. Ness reached for the door, however the cloaked figure's hand shot up first and he opened the door. Ness was actually rather surprised that the cloaked figure had the strength to open the doors. They were intentionally made rather heavy so that the Smashers couldn't interrupt whatever Master Hand would do behind the doors. Suddenly two golden bullets rushed for the cloaked figure. They just exploded in midair, not even touching him, but a gust of wind suddenly pushed his cloak off.

"How many times do I have to tell you to knock first!" Master Hand's voice boomed.

"Sorry, but you never told me that, Hand." Nugai said.

"Nugai!?" Master Hand said surprised.

The doors suddenly slammed shut with Ness just standing on the other side. He tried to press his ear against the door to hear what was going on, but the room was perfectly soundproofed.

"So, what did you find out about that guy?" A voice asked.

Ness turned around to see Villager right behind him, Ness guessed that he had been trailing them. With how frequent Villager was over with the Kid Smashers, not many other Smashers would bat an eye; it was almost like he fit in. And even then, he knew where nearly everything was in the mansion. "Not much, V." Ness sighed. "But he seemed to know Master Hand."

"He overpowered you and Popo pretty quickly too." Villager said.

Ness just nodded. "Yeah… that's kind of scary considering how strong Popo is with his hammer."

"Popo was saying that as soon as his hammer touched him, he could feel the depth of his power." Villager said.

Ness just nodded. "I'm just glad he's on our side... I kind of wonder what they're talking about in there though..."

"If it's important, I'm sure you guys will hear about it soon enough." Villager laughed.

"Yeah, I guess that's right." Ness said.

"Well, I guess I better go back to my town." Villager sighed.

"Do you want me to escort you back?" Ness wondered.

"Yeah sure." Villager laughed.

Around the Smash Mansion, the other Smashers were also doing their normal things. Mario, Luigi, Wario and Peach were out playing tennis. Olimar was gardening. Captain Falcon was working on his Blue Falcon in the garage.

Kirby was running away from a frustrated Link who had been trying to bake a cake for Zelda, but Kirby had stolen and eaten it.

For the most part, things were peaceful.

But up in Master Hand's office, things weren't at all peaceful. "Are you sure?" Master Hand asked.

"Yes. Positive." Nugai said. "By the end of summer. In just about 5 months time."

"That doesn't give us a lot of time." Master Hand said annoyed. The giant hand just let off a sigh. "Why are you coming to me now? You should have been here earlier."

"I'm sorry." Nugai sighed. "Unfortunately, it seems that the wall that's between our two dimensions only recently became filled with holes and things have been slipping through."

"Really? Just recently?" Master Hand said rather surprised.

"Well, there has been the odd time it's happened before. March 9th, 2008, there was Pokemon Platinum on May 14th, 2009, there was also the Kid Icarus Uprising's launch on March 23, 2012... but most of the time I was able to deal with the small things myself." Nugai sighed. "Only recently has it become more of a problem, that I'm sure it will break soon."

"I see." Master Hand replied.

"So, I devised this plan." Nugai said. He pulled out a USB stick and tossed it to Master Hand. The giant glove caught it and just began to fiddle with it.

"What is this?"

"The key to everyone's hope. Or the key to their despair." Nugai said. "On the USB stick is further instructions, and a program."

"The key to everyone's hope or their despair?" Master Hand said confused.

Nugai just nodded. "Yes." He said. "Unfortunately, I can't say that I came up with a foolproof plan. It's going to be a really long hard battle, and I might not even survive..."

"Nugai..." Master Hand calmly said. He just floated there. "You've all ready made up your mind, haven't you? Or rather, you've all ready seen your death, way back then."

Nugai just nodded. "There are things that only I can do. The stage has been set for someone else to take over. And that's the first part of my plan. I've chosen my piece; up next is your turn. You have to choose your pieces."

"My pieces?" Master Hand said confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"First, you will send out two Smashers, any two of your choice and tell them to find my successor. They will find him." Nugai said.

"So, it can be any two." Master Hand said.

"Yes." Nugai replied. "Send them out tonight, and hopefully they will find each other quickly. Next, once those two are sent out, you are going to find 12 other humans who have the potential to cross over into this dimension if the wall wasn't there. Any 12 will do. You will also send over two Smashers to each of them, forming a group of three."

"Might I ask why?"

"It's for basic knowledge of how our world works. They are to act as guides. That, and you need them to send anything that crosses over back. Hence, why they also have to have the potential to cross over." Nugai said. "Now, put that USB into the computer."

Master Hand put the USB stick into a computer and things began to appear on the monitor. "What's this?" Master Hand asked.

"My answer remains the same, humanities hope." Nugai responded. "Or their despair. The choice of the 12 humans is entirely up to you. In the end, my successor, and those twelve will work together."

"What?" Master Hand said.

"Did I stutter? I've chosen my successor, and they will work with him. He is far more well suited for this job than I am." Nugai said. He threw over a portfolio to Master Hand who just began to rummage through it. Much to his surprise, it seemed that someone actually remembered he was a giant white glove incapable of actually seeing anything and it was all in braille. Everything except for a picture of the person.

"What is this?" Master Hand just asked shocked.

"A portfolio." Nugai replied. "And you can cut the blind man act, I know you can see things quite clearly."

If one was just a bystander in the room, you could get the impression of Master Hand glaring at Nugai. "I guess I can't hide things from you." Master Hand laughed. The photo just floated up in front of him. "This person is the one you've chosen?"

"Of course." Nugai said. "I'm sure he will be satisfactory. Of course, if you don't like him you can always try to eliminate him, that is if you can."

"Do you know who this is?" Master Hand asked.

"More or less." Nugai said.

"Why? Why would you do this? Why would you choose him?" Master Hand just repeated.

"Because, he is the one I believe can get the job done." Nugai said.

"But earlier you said it was the 12's choices that would lead to humanity's hope or despair. With him, it will only lead to despair." Master Hand said. "Just why did you choose him?"

"He's my cousin." Nugai said. "That's all he is. Now if you don't mind, let's talk about something else."

"Your Cousin?!" Master Hand said shocked. "But that's..."

"I said let's talk about something else." Nugai said, cutting him off. "I don't have much time left and there is much to go over with the limited time I do have."

Master Hand didn't press further. Their talks continued for another hour. Nugai was discussing his plans in greater detail and what he had found out about the current situation. "Everything will start to crossover here at this point, however, it will begin to spread out later. If my calculations are correct, we have 5 months before Project Fantasia is fully executed."

"5 Months, huh?" Master Hand said.

"It doesn't seem like a long time." Nugai sighed. "But, it's what we have."

Master Hand just nodded. "Your plan is crazy, and it might doom humanity."

"Its a risk I'm willing to take." Nugai said. "Maybe it's because of detachment because of the power I hold, or just general cynicism. But, over the past few years I've wondered if humanity is even worth saving. All the good we've done, and all the evil we've done in our history, all of the selfishness. If it was up to me, I would have chosen to damn humanity. That's why I chose him, he will be able to make the choice that I won't have the courage to. The choice that I'm too bitter to make…"

"Nugai, what's happened to you in your world?" Master Hand asked.

"Once I leave, you need to choose your 12 right away and then send two Smashers to each to meet them." Nugai said, dodging Master Hand's question.

"Nugai, you didn't answer my question."

Nugai just looked rather distant. "Sorry, but my time here is up. Perhaps, I'll be able to tell you next time. Now, give these to the Smashers who you choose to go find my successor, it was the only thing I wasn't able to give to them." From underneath the cloak he pulled out a small little card holder. It just floated from his hand to in front of Master Hand. "I've got to return, otherwise they will be getting suspicious. We'll meet again, Master Hand."

"Wait you're not able to meet with your successor?" Master Hand blurted out, but Nugai had vanished into thin air before he was even able to finish the sentence.

Master Hand floated behind his desk. He looked over the papers of the 13th person that Nugai had chosen. "Nugai's successor..." He didn't exactly believe that Nugai would choose him under normal conditions. But... that was his choice, and he did say something along the lines of if he didn't like it he could be eliminated. Nugai's cousin, Master Hand just laughed wondering what the boy would think of Nugai if he heard him say that.

There was also the issue of choosing 12 others. And with only 5 months time left, he couldn't exactly waste his time choosing. Any second wasted choosing the 12 representatives, would be a second less for them to fight against Project Fantasia. He looked at the general area on the map, of where Nugai said that the crossing over would start.

"I need 12 people. They need to be knowledgeable about our world, and have the potential to cross over." Master Hand said.

* * *

Ness had returned back to the Smash Mansion after dropping Villager off at his town. He made his way up to Master Hand's office, only to see Popo was sitting against the wall. "They're still at it?" Ness wondered.

"Yeah..." Popo sighed. "This must be something important."

"Well, let's go get some food." Ness said.

Popo just nodded in agreement.

* * *

Master Hand had chosen the 12 people. With what limited information he had, he figured that they were the best choice. They were the closest to the main area of where all the crossing over would be happening. They were knowledgeable about their world and the people it. But most importantly, he felt that at least one of these 12 would be able to eliminate Nugai's successor.

He looked over the program. They would be given powers somehow... Nugai also made it so that if their 3DS was destroyed, their memories would be erased, and they would be back into their normal life. It was a strange safety net, the hand originally thought. But then Nugai had explained it to the hand.

* * *

"It's a game. The one who get's the most respect and allies, or the last one standing is the winner and will be the leader. "

"What?" Master Hand said.

"The rules are simple. Don't you think?"

"But… all of them will be in danger!" Master Hand said.

"Yes, but is that any different from the danger that they will be facing elsewhere?" Nugai wondered. "The monsters that they will be fighting."

"Monsters?"

"I've mostly been taking care of it myself." Nugai sighed. "As great as my power is, it is limited and it's at the point where I need others to intercept them and send them back… Plus, if I'm the one doing all of the work, no one else will be trained for fighting against them in case the worst case scenario happens."

"And what about the other applicants. They could eliminate the each other…"

"I know." Nugai bluntly said. "In fact, I've fully planned for it. It's to build up the ideal strike force to fight back against the worlds fusing. If there is someone that they don't like, or think won't be beneficial to their goal, they can eliminate them."

"But that would also include your…"

"I know." Nugai said bluntly. "The first rules of creating a game is that they have to be fair, and apply to everyone, right?"

* * *

He glanced back at the file that Nugai had given him, he was sure he wasn't being told the whole story. But right now, it wasn't exactly the time for that.

"Damn it Nugai." Master Hand said pounding his fist against his desk. "What are you plotting?" He glanced over to the shadows in the room. Standing there was perhaps one of his most loyal Smashers, who stood there throughout the whole meeting with Nugai. Master Hand was positive that he hadn't noticed the watcher. "I'll be sending you out as one of the Smashers." Master Hand said. "Greninja. I'm thinking as one of the Smashers supporting 1 of the 12."

"Nin!" Greninja said.

"Don't worry I'll be fine." Master Hand sighed. He read through what Nugai was proposing once again. He didn't particularly like it, but it was as of right now their only choice for trying to stop Project Fantasia.

Greninja just bowed right before Master Hand. "Nin!" He said.

Master Hand floated there. "You have a request?" Master Hand said shocked.

Greninja just nodded. "Nin!"

Master Hand just floated there. "I'll think about it." He said. Greninja just disappeared back into the shadows.

He then moved on to the much harder choice. He had to choose two Smashers to go and meet Nugai's successor. And not just any two, they would have to be able to strike him down at a moment's notice. He had two in mind, two that had monsters inside of them as well. If it came down to it, they would be able to do it. For now, he decided to trust in Nugai's plan. He then reached for a buzzer. It was time to call together all of the Smashers and brief them on this.

* * *

The alarm sounded throughout the Smash Mansion. All of the Smashers just looked around a bit confused. Once they realized what was happening, a few of them got some smiles across their faces. It had been a long time since many of them had heard that alarm.

They made their way down to a briefing room

It was just a rather stereotypical meeting room. Just a large room with a bunch of tables, some chairs, and a podium for Master Hand to float behind, and then a screen. He looked at all of the Smashers as they took their seats. He was nervous to say the least. He didn't know how the Smashers would actually react to this news that he was about to tell them.

He cleared his non-existent throat and began. "Greetings Smashers." He said. All of them just looked at the giant hand. Beside him was his brother Crazy hand who was just waving at all of the Smashers non stop.

"I've called together this emergency meeting for several reasons. The first and most important reason is because we now have a giant crisis that we must face!"

Everyone just immediately looked around the room a bit confused.

"Hey, you're not going to ease us into this, tell us a few jokes, make us loosen up before you start all this?" Falco asked concerned.

"Sorry, time is of the essence." Master Hand said.

All of the Smashers just looked around rather concerned. They had never seen the hand like this.

"Smashers, in approximately 5 months time, our world, no our dimension will face it's biggest crisis." Master Hand said. Behind him on the screen appeared two spheres. "Please turn your attention to the screen. These spheres represent two different dimensions. One is our world and the other is a world that is parallel to ours. However, in recent times the people from the other world have been trying to teleport into our own. This hasn't been without negative effects. The two dimensions are slowly fusing together."

"What!"

Everyone was rather surprised by the news they just looked at the two hands in shock. "Yes, it's true." Master Hand said. "The two dimensions are slowly becoming one. There have been many cases of disappearances. I think that is the result of other people just simply going into this other world by mistake."

"So, what's our job?" Mario asked.

"We're going to go into the other world." Master Hand said. "And while we're there, we're going to try and stop them from fusing."

Pit just looked up. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Yes." Master Hand said. "It's a world full of unknowns, but I have prepared a plan for it. I am going to select 24 of you Smashers, and then divide them those chosen into 12 groups of two. The 12 groups are then going to find 12 people over there who have the potential to to cross over into our world. If you're not chosen, please don't be upset. There is a chance that later there is the possibility that we will be sending a third Smasher to each group."

On the screen appeared 12 groups of two Smashers. Some Smashers were upset with who they were paired with, others were rather annoyed that they didn't get chosen.

The groups looked like this:

Wario &amp; Ike

Captain Falcon &amp; Luigi

King Dedede &amp; Snake

Ness &amp; Roy

Pikachu &amp; Pit

Link &amp; Wolf

Mario &amp; Meta Knight

Samus &amp; Ganondorf

Kirby &amp; Mr. Game and Watch

Fox &amp; Marth

Greninja &amp; Olimar

Jigglypuff &amp; Falco

Saki and Isaac just sat in their chairs looking rather bored. "Looks like we're not going on a mission." Saki sighed.

"Yeah..." Isaac said.

The two got up, ready to go to a bar, or do something else while waiting for further instructions, however Master Hand quickly flew up to them. "Saki, Isaac!" He shouted.

The two just looked at the gloved hand, fearing the worse, that they would now have to do some boring job of watching monitors, and observing those out on a mission.

"I have an important mission for you two."

"_Here it comes._" They both thought, breathing in, and bracing for the worst.

"You're going into that world to find someone named Nugai."

They both flinched. "What?!"

"I didn't say this out there, but..." He quickly snapped his fingers and the three of them reappeared in Master Hand's office. "You have to find this Nugai person."

"Nugai?" Isaac said confused.

"Yes." Master Hand said. "He was the one who wrote the code to temporarly separate our two worlds from depending on each other. However, while thousands of years have passed in here, I don't know how much time has passed out there. He's still alive and we met face to face, however he said I needed to send two Smashers to find his successor."

"Understood." Saki said. "Just find this successor guy."

"And if possible find out what happened to Nugai." Master Hand said. "He didn't tell me the whole story, but I suspect something bad has happened, and his movements have been restricted somehow..."

The two nodded.

"I have arranged it so that you can leave tonight, before any other Smasher." Master Hand said.

The two of them nodded. "Understood."

"Isaac, Saki. When you find the person, give him these. If he or she is meant to be our leader, he will know how to use them." Master Hand said, floating towards them was a small pack of cards.

They took the cards rather surprised.

"You're honestly giving us these?" Saki asked.

"Yes." Master Hand said.

"How can these even be used as a weapon?" Isaac asked inspecting them. "Are they just going to give the monsters enough paper cuts until it bleeds to death?"

"Please look at the cards." Master Hand said.

They just began to open the pack and then looked at the six cards inside. They just had some illustrations on them. The first, a question mark block. The second, a picture of Mario, the third, a picture of Toon Link. The fourth, a picture of Kirby. The fifth, a picture of Samus. The sixth, a picture of some pikmin. "So... we give him trading cards of us?"

Master Hand just floated there. "You will understand in the future." He said.

"Sure." Saki sighed, putting the cards into his pocket. "Okay... next?"

"Now, please go and say good bye to your families." Master Hand said. "I'm sure how long this mission will probably take. In fact, there is probably the chance you will die on it and never see them again."

The two just nodded and departed.

* * *

Around the mansion everyone was getting ready and was rather excited. "I can't wait to go to the other world!" Ness shouted rather excited.

"Lucky you." Popo said. "You get to go, and meanwhile we're here holding down the fort."

"You guys have got a very important job!" Ness said.

"It can be done by wireframes." Nana said annoyed. "Geeze, I signed up to be a Smasher for the adventure! Not to watch a monitor and make sure you were okay."

"It's still an important job." Ness laughed. "Well, at least I have a few days to prepare. I'll spend some time with you guys, so incase we don't see each other again for a long while you don't have to worry."

"This whole thing is too scary..." Lucas said. "Why do we have to fight..."

Ness glanced at the other psychic. At times others wondered why Lucas was a Smasher, he wasn't as brave as all of them, in fact, he was rather cowardly. There were moments where he showed power, but it wasn't anything that spectacular. If Ness had to describe the difference between his and Lucas' power, he'd use the word precise. Lucas was much more precise. He was slower and had more control, he lost the power that Ness had with getting the quick attacks out in succession, but he made those strikes count. Ness just wrapped his arm around his friend's neck. "Don't worry about it." Ness said. He knew his friend was a pacifist, and would like to avoid fights if possible. "If we're lucky, the first wave of Smashers will get everything settled quickly. No one else will even need to lift a finger."

"I hope so." Lucas said. "Just the way Master Hand spoke, it's going to be a long battle. And as long as we're on the job, we won't be able to see Villager and Rock. And that guy, he was so scary... if there are more people like him..."

"Just relax, we'll be fine." Ness said, patting Lucas on the back.

Lucas just meekly nodded. "I hope so..." He repeated. "But, Master Hand sent Greninja too."

Everyone just glanced at Lucas. "Yeah…" Popo muttered.

"Why would he do that?" Red wondered.

Greninja was Master Hand's personal bodyguard. He had found it as an abandoned Froakie one day and then raised it. He wasn't an official Smasher, he was just there, like Villager and Mega Man were there. Greninja was always at his side, and ready to do almost anything for the Hand. Moreover, he was able to hold his own against even the strongest of the Smashers.

"Let's not worry about this." Ness said. "Come on, let's just enjoy our time together before the mission."

* * *

Saki had made it to his apartment in the city. Waiting for him at his house was his wife, Airan, and his five year old son, Isa. "Saki." Airan said wrapping her arms around her husband. "What happened?"

"Something big has come up." Saki replied. "You know I can't really talk about work."

Airan just nodded understanding. "Unfortunately. You always seem like you have so much on your shoulders."

"Well, it's a big job, and I'll be away from home for a while." Saki said. "Master Hand told us to spend time with our loved ones for the rest of today."

"Us?" Airan questioned.

"Isaac is going with me on this mission." Saki said. "He's probably with Jenna and Matthew now."

Isa suddenly looked up at the mention of Matthew. Matthew was two years younger, but the two were next to inseparable. Anyone could easily mistake them as brothers. "Is that so." Airan laughed. "Well, I'm sure you two will constantly be looking out for each other."

"Yeah." Saki said. "Isa, let's go get some ice cream."

"Okay, Daddy." Isa said.

* * *

Isaac currently was looking down at Matthew. He was having his afternoon nap. He had explained everything to Jenna, and was now debating about whether or not he should wake the kid. Eventually he just began to lightly shake the boy.

"Daddy?" Matthew said.

"Hey there." Isaac smiled. He lifted up the boy and just carried him around the apartment. He sat down on the couch. "Your dad has to go and do a job and will likely not be home for a long time. I just wanted to spend time with you and your mother."

* * *

As evening approached, Saki and Isaac had returned to the Smash Mansion. No one had batted an eye that they had been gone. Officially, they were Smashers, just apart of a group known as Assists, that were full of people who ranged in strength. There were those like Saki and Isaac who were just as strong as normal Smashers, or even surpassed them who were apart of this group. Like the main Smashers, they had full access to the amenities of the Smash Mansion and could come and go as they pleased.

The two of them just paused to see watch the Kid Smashers who were running around outside, playing a game of soccer. "I wish I could be as carefree as them." Isaac laughed.

"Same…" Saki said. "But, maybe it's not that they're carefree, it's just that they are enjoying what little time left they have together."

"Fair enough." Isaac said.

A soccer ball went rushing right for Saki's head. However, he just blocked the attack with his hand. Lucas came running up towards them. "I'm sorry!" He apologized, getting the soccer ball back.

"Don't worry about it." Saki laughed just ruffling Lucas' hair.

Lucas just watched in shock as they began to walk away.

"Lucas!" Ness called out. Lucas just turned over to his friend in surprise. "Hey, were you going to bring the ball back to us?"

"Yeah, sorry." Lucas said. He glanced back at the Smash Mansion occasionally. His mind was elsewhere.

After their game, Lucas just rushed to Ness. "Um Ness, I have a question regarding psychic powers." Lucas said.

"Oh?" Ness said a bit confused. "Well, I can try and answer."

"Have you ever been able to look into someone's mind involuntarily when they touch you?" Lucas said.

"Well, there was a time where I could see into everyone's mind around me." Ness sighed. "It was like constant noise."

Lucas just nodded. "But if someone like say, Popo, were to brush against you, would you be able to see into their head if you weren't trying to?"

Ness thought about it for several seconds. "Sort of." Ness replied. "First, well, let's use the soccer game as an example. If Popo wanted to win, and we both clashed for the soccer ball, I'd probably see some manifestation of his will to win, if it was strong enough. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Lucas replied.

Ness just smiled. "Okay, well let's go get dinner then."

"Okay, I'll catch up with you later." Lucas said. "It's my turn to water the garden."

Ness just smiled. "Well, in that case I can help you."

They just made their way over to a hose and some watering cans. Lucas began to fill up the watering cans, which Ness quickly ran off with to do the gardens on the other side of the mansion. Lucas just covered the hole of the hose with his thumb to let water spray across all of the flowers.

He often thought that he was like the flowers. Something that didn't belong here in the Smash Mansion, it was only there to make it look nicer than it actually was. It was just a den of monsters. In the den of monsters, why was someone like him here? Ness he could understand. Ness was brave, strong, cool, and confident. But him? Bowser, Ganondorf, and Wario scared him. He wasn't strong. He wasn't cool. He was afraid. Perhaps now more than ever. This mission, it was going to take a long time.

When Saki had ruffled his hair, he saw the mission that Master Hand had given them. He knew what was coming up ahead, how they were departing in the middle of the night when no one else would be awake…

"Lucas, can I get a refill?" Ness asked bringing back the watering cans.

"Sure." Lucas said.

"You looked like you were deep in thought." Ness said. "What were you thinking about?"

"Um, just how much I'm like these flowers?" Lucas said.

Ness just smiled. "Really?" he laughed.

"Yes, of course." Lucas said, a bit embarrassed.

Ness just glanced over the flowers. "I think you're like the flowers too. Kind and gentle." Ness glanced down at the watering cans and just took them. "Well, these should finish the other flowerbeds. I'll be back soon."

Ness dashed away. And Lucas just returned to watering the plants. "_Even Ness doesn't think I belong here…_" Lucas thought. "_That invitation was for Claus… wasn't it_?"

He remembered the day, like it was yesterday. A letter arrived at his house. His father just gave it to him, he never said a word. Lucas removed the wax seal and just read through the letter. Stating that he had been chosen to participate as a Smasher.

Even back then, Lucas thought the letter was for Claus his twin brother. After the death of his mother, Claus ran away, and they never saw him again. Lucas had wanted to go with Claus, but something stopped him. He was originally just going to the mansion to decline the offer, but something happened. They insisted that it was in fact for him, not his brother, and soon he found himself staying there as a Smasher.

"_Claus… he's just like Ness… Strong and brave and…_"

"And done!" Ness said, surprising Lucas. Lucas quickly turned to Ness, however he still had his thumb over the hose, causing Ness to be drenched in water.

"N- Ne- N- N- Ness?!" Lucas began to cry. "I'm sorry!"

Ness just began to laugh. "It's my fault. I wanted to see if I could scare you… And I guess I did. Stupid me."

They finished watering the flowers and Ness just ran up to their room to change into dry clothing. The other kid Smashers just laughed when Ness told them.

* * *

It was now past midnight. Saki had just gone through his mental checklist and looked around his room.

There was a light knocking at the door, followed by someone slowly opening it. "It's me." Isaac whispered.

"Okay." Saki just nodded.

"Are you ready to go?" Isaac asked.

"Yeah, I was just about to go get you." Saki said.

The two of them stepped out of the room, both of them were carrying bags. Which they quickly placed cloaking devices on, so if they encountered anyone, they wouldn't notice. At this time, most of the other Smashers were asleep. So while it was unlikely, they would rather be safe than sorry. They passed by the TV room of the Smash Mansion to see the TV on, and Captain Falcon having gone to sleep while watching it. They made their way to a hallway that looked like a dead end. They just hit a hidden button behind a hung painting and suddenly the wall began to open revealing an elevator behind it.

The two of them stepped inside. Saki hit another button to close the doors, and then hit another button to send the elevator down to their first destination.

For the first time they were in rather decent lighting, they just looked at themselves in the mirror on the elevator. They were both looking a bit nervous. No one else had been informed of their job, and they were supposed to go out in the middle of the night while everyone else was asleep. Not to mention, it felt like this was going to be a long mission. That they weren't going to be getting back to the Smash Mansion for a few weeks.

"Why do you think Master Hand doesn't want anyone else to know?" Saki wondered, breaking the silence.

"Who knows." Isaac replied. "He works in mysterious ways."

"At times, a bit too mysterious." Saki said annoyed. Isaac just shrugged his shoulders.

"Ah well, at least we actually get to do something."

Saki nodded in agreement. "I don't think I've ever been this nervous before a mission." Saki sighed. His hand was rubbing his stomach. "Not even during my old suicide missions while I was in The Saviors."

Isaac just nodded in agreement. "I don't think I've ever faced a monster that made me as nervous as this."

The elevator stopped, and opened to another room. This was the last place a Smasher would go before setting off on their mission. It was a small hallway connected to several small rooms. The first were some change rooms, the second was another briefing room. The two walked in to see Master Hand waiting for them. He floated there. "Please, come with me." Master Hand said. "I'll go over some more details of what you're supposed to do while there."

The two of them just nodded.

* * *

Lucas was unable to fall asleep. He was currently just looking up at the ceiling. He glanced around the room to his roommates: Ness, Toon Link, and Popo. He just got up and went to a desk and pulled out a pen and paper.

He just began to scribble down something and then folded it into an envelope.

He quickly got a bag out and stuffed some of his clothes in it and then ran out of the room.

* * *

At the nearby village of Smashville, the young mayor, Villager was working diligently. His secretary, Isabelle an anthropomorphic dog, had walked into his office.

"Good evening, Mayor." She said, wagging her tail. "You certainly are working late."

Villager just nodded. "Yeah. I couldn't get to sleep."

"Even though you were spending the whole day at the Smash Mansion, playing with your friends?" Isabelle said.

Villager just nodded, as he finished up some paperwork. "Okay, it seems like they want a new bridge." He just leaned back on his chair, looked up at the ceiling, and let out a huge yawn.

"Maybe you are actually more tired then you're letting on, and you should be going to sleep." Isabelle said.

"Yeah, you're right." Villager laughed. "Okay, I'm going home now."

He got up and exited out of the town hall, he glanced back to see Isabelle just cleaning up after him. He walked back to his house, which was on the edge of the town, occasionally pulling a few weeds out of the ground. "If I'm not here, does this whole place just fall apart?" He wondered.

He got to his house, and began to go through his pockets looking for his keys when suddenly he heard what sounded like a bunch of people walking nearby. Confused, he walked and hid behind some trees and bushes to look.

He just saw an army of strange creatures that were marching towards the Smash Mansion. Suddenly beside him was a giant eyeball like creature that was just staring at him. Afraid, Villager pulled out a slingshot and shot it in the eye. It let out a scream of pain and fell to the ground, Villager however quickly ran into his house.

* * *

Saki and Isaac were just yawning as Master Hand continued to explain more and more boring things.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Saki sighed. "We get it. Recon duty, check if the planet has only human inhabitants, send back word so the Smashers will have to use holograms to disguise themselves…"

Master Hand just ignored him and after several more minutes he said. "Any questions?"

"No, we got it all." Isaac replied.

"All right, please change into these suits then." Master Hand said, snapping his fingers. In front of them appeared two briefcases. They opened them up and just made their way to a changing room. As Saki got in, he noticed that another briefcase was all ready open and empty. He just stared at it for a few seconds, before deciding that the last person who came in here to change during a mission was a slob.

The suits were there to protect them during travel. It was nothing new to them. The two got out of the change rooms in the suits.

"All right." Master Hand said. "I wish you much luck."

The two of them nodded. They went towards the second elevator, the one that would lead to the hangers, however just as Saki pressed a button, sirens began to go off.

* * *

In the kitchen Kirby was up, trying to get a midnight snack. He was just looking through the fridge. Mario had also stepped into the kitchen. He looked at Kirby a bit surprised and reached over him for the bag of milk.

He just poured it into a cup. "Looking for a midnight snack?" Mario said.

"Yeah." Kirby sighed. "Can't say I see anything too appealing through. Just some leftover pizza… I thought there was more food in here at dinnertime. It's never been this empty before."

The fridge was mostly empty as the next day was the day that they would go out and get groceries. But Mario had to agree, this was the most barren he had ever seen the fridge, even the bottles of condiments, that he swore were there several hours earlier, were gone.

Kirby eventually grabbed the plate of left over pizza and went over to the microwave. However, there was suddenly a large explosion, followed by the whole mansion shaking, causing Kirby to drop the plate. It shattered on the ground, and then some alarms began to go off.

"What's going on?!" Kirby shouted.

"We're under attack!?" Mario said confused.

There was another explosion, and the mansion shook once again. When the two regained their balance, they quickly rushed to a window to look outside to see who was attacking them.

* * *

Even deep underground, Saki and Isaac were feeling the mansion shake. They could hear the explosions through the mansions thick walls and the ground. The two of them looked more annoyed than anything, as the safety systems shut down the elevator. Master Hand just teleported down to the hanger, while the two of them were forced to take the stairs.

"Who would attack us now?!" Isaac asked jumping down several stairs.

"I don't know, but they sure are gutsy." Saki replied.

"Why would they attack us?" Isaac asked annoyed.

"Part of me wants to say, 'just because' and that they are idiots." Saki replied. "Unfortunately, another part of me is saying they're attacking because they don't want us to go out to the other world."

"But how would they know that?" Isaac asked. "We only found out about it this afternoon."

"A spy?" Saki suggested.

"It's only you and me who knew about this mission." Isaac replied.

"Well, what if they're trying to stop everyone else from leaving." Saki suggested. "Do enough damage and make sure that we don't go to the other world because we're recovering, and have to cancel our plans to rebuild a hanger, or something."

"That I'm willing to believe." Isaac said. "Still, from what Master Hand was saying, I thought that the people who wanted the worlds to fuse were on the other side..."

They reached a door that would lead to the hanger, the two opened it up, and waiting for them was Master Hand. "You'll be going in this ship." He said, pointing at a rather small one.

The ship was still properly equipped with three bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen. Master Hand snapped his fingers, and two travel bags appeared. "I've got several more rations in here for you guys" He said. They just floated up and flew towards Saki and Isaac. They effortlessly caught them. "Sorry that you didn't have more preparation time."

"That's fine." Saki said.

"Take this communicator. It will stay in touch with the mansion letting us know everything about your location and status. Be sure to send updates constantly too." Master Hand said tossing the phone like device onto Saki's bag.

"Still, our enemies are pretty bold." Isaac said.

"Indeed. To attack us like this. Did they know what we were going to do? Or did they just do this in the hopes to destroy us before we got involved?" Master Hand said. "Listen, I'm sorry for sending you out like this. But it has to be done."

"We understand." Saki said.

"You two are still Smashers." Master Hand said. "And I would like to wish you the best of luck on this mission."

"Thank-" However, before the words were even able to get out of Isaac's mouths, the alarms blared once more, and a prerecorded message came over all of the speakers.

"Emergency, enemies have breached the mansion. They are now inside the mansion."

"We don't have anymore time. Go!" Master Hand shouted.

The two of them dashed for the ship. They got in and began to activate it. It soon became extremely clear that whoever their attackers were, they were coming down into the hanger. Several more announcements came on, each time just saying that they had breached a certain level of security, and where they were.

"Enemies are in level B-5." One recording said.

Saki began to frantically turn on the ship. Isaac was also doing his best to help. The doors to the hanger opened, and to the outside world.

"To warp to the other world, you have to reach a speed of 88 miles per hour." Master Hand's voice came over a communication radio.

"Seriously?" Saki said rather annoyed.

"Whatever." Isaac said. "Let's just get out of here now!"

Soon the ship was taking off. Thankfully reaching 88 miles per hour wouldn't be all that hard. They exited the hanger and just began to fly out. However they soon learned that their enemies were waiting. The ship began to shake from a barrage of lasers and explosives being shot at them. They tried to look out of the windows of the ship to see their attackers, but it was far too dark to make out anything.

"Warping in… 3… 2…"

However as soon as they reached the 88 miles per hour required for warping, a missile hit the ship, and exploded.

They warped, but parts of the ship were falling apart, and then, they crashed.

It took them several seconds to get their bearings. They looked around, and began to run several preliminary scans.

"Did we get to the right place?" Isaac asked.

Saki began to type at a computer. "I think so," he said. "Yeah, this planet is definitely inhabitable. It's matching up with the information that Master Hand had loaded in the systems. I'm pretty sure this is the place we're supposed to be."

Isaac just nodded. "And what is the status on the ship?"

"Its sustained heavy damage." Saki said. "I don't know if it can warp any more though, especially without falling apart. Cloaking seems to be working, the scanners are too. Just seems like most of the excess armor is gone."

"Well, I guess we should be thankful that it was reinforced." Isaac said.

Saki just nodded. "Running a quick diagnostic."

* * *

At the Smash Mansion the attack had ended just as fast as it began. The Smashers were just confused, tired, and now frustrated.

"Why did they run away!" Ganondorf shouted outraged. He punched the wall, leaving a rather noticeable dent. "Bunch of cowards!"

Where they had entered they had left part of the mansion in ruins. They tried to avoid confrontation with the Smashers who were there. The Smashers soon found that they had made their way deeper into the Smash Mansion, where the hidden chambers and their armories waited. But, soon found that their various defensive measures were able to repel most of them.

"Looks like the phantoms did their job on this floor." Zelda said.

"And the Cruel Wireframes did it on B5."

"The Cruel Alloys were fine on floor B7"

"Any visuals on who our enemies were?" Fox asked.

"None." Master Hand replied. "I've gone through the video footage with Snake. That was the first thing that they cut."

The Smashers just made their way back up to what remained of the living room. All ready the wireframes were working on rebuilding any spot where the mansion was damaged.

"Mario, Kirby, you two were awake in the kitchen right?" Master Hand asked. "Did you see who our opponents were?"

"No." Mario sighed. "We took cover, and then they blinded us with something."

"Just what was their goal?" Captain Falcon said annoyed.

Master Hand however didn't answer. He figured it was to stop Saki and Isaac from going to the other world. He didn't want to break the news to anyone just yet. "Return to bed. We'll worry about this in the morning, when our judgment isn't clouded."

The Smashers obliged.

* * *

In the morning, Ness woke up. When he had got back to his room, he just collapsed on the bed and fell asleep; he didn't pay attention to who else was in the room, or anything else. He just assumed that the others would do the same. He glanced over. Lucas' bed was rather neat. He always made it before he went out. Popo was still sleeping in his lower bunk.

Ness just jumped off of his top bunk and looked around. Right now Toon Link wasn't in his bed. What caught his eye though was an envelope on the desk. Ness was a bit curious, was one of his roommates writing a letter home? But he saw that it wasn't addressed to anyone and was still open.

Curiosity got the better of him. He just opened it up and noticed it was Lucas' neat handwriting. He then began to read it.

* * *

_Dear Ness,_

_By the time you read this, I'll be gone. I don't feel like I'm cut out to be in the Smashers. I'm not amazing like you. My PSI isn't that good either. I can't use it in quick succession. It's also not as strong as yours._

_I'm afraid too. The battles ahead seem far too big and out of my league. I'd only drag the Smashers down. _

_And above all else, I'm afraid. I'm terrified._

_I never told you, or anyone else, but I lost my mother. I saw her die right in front of my eyes. I don't want to see or feel that pain again. I'm nothing but a coward. When I joined the Smashers, I came here to escape that pain. But I grew attached to you all. I began to see Samus, Peach, and Zelda as big sisters and mother figures. You, and the rest of the kid Smashers I thought of as brothers. I thought of everyone as one big family. And that was a mistake._

_I didn't just lose my mother; I also lost my real brother too. What I was doing was just replacing them with you to try and hide my pain._

_Do you know what it's like when someone you love dies? Probably not. It feels like a part of you has been torn out. You always look where they used to be, hoping that they'd still be there. But they're not, and they will never be again. You then desperately hold onto your memories, hoping you can remember what they sounded like, their smell. You try to remember the taste of their cooking… but it slowly fades, even to the point of where if you're not sure if pictures are real or not. "Did they look like that? They wore that outfit?" and then you even forget the sound of their voice..._

_When I bumped into Saki, I saw a little bit of what lies ahead. Master Hand didn't explain everything to us. It's going to be a long hard battle, and he fears that some of us won't make it out alive. I just don't want to lose anyone else in my life. So… I'm running away._

_I'm a horrible person, aren't I? You must hate me. That's fine. I deserve it._

_I'm sorry._

_Goodbye forever,_

_Lucas_

* * *

Ness just cringed and crumpled up the letter, before burning it to ash.

"Damn it, Luke…" He muttered. "You idiot. None of that is true…" Ness was nervous. He didn't know when or where Lucas had gone, especially when the attack occurred. Was he killed by the people who attacked? Was he captured? Did he get lost in the confusion? Ness didn't know what to do. It would only be a matter of time before everyone else noticed that Lucas was gone. He really should report it to Master Hand right away. But Lucas was still his friend, and he was afraid that if Lucas was caught he would be punished.

"Hey, you coming for breakfast?" Toon Link shouted.

Ness just glanced back at the door. "Yeah, sorry." Ness said. He just closed his eyes and believed, that for right now this was something that Lucas had to do himself, and that he would eventually find his way back into the Smashers.

He rushed down to the kitchen.

* * *

The day was going by without any other attacks. Now that it was light out, the Smashers were assessing the damage better. Master Hand and Princess Zelda had made their way out to the gardens.

"Strange." He said.

"What is?" Princess Zelda asked.

"Despite all of the damage to the mansion, most of the garden is still intact." Master Hand said. "These flowers don't look all that strong from up here above ground, but beneath the soil their roots have grabbed a firm grip. You are aware of the difference between a flower and a weed, right Princess Zelda?"

"Yes?" Zelda said confused.

"Depending on your point of view, a flower can be either. A strictly speaking, a weed is something that you don't want in your garden." Master Hand said. "Still, you have to respect a weed's tenacity at times. When you think you got rid of it, it comes back. It seems one of our flowers has thought of itself as a weed. But just as the weed, the flower spreads it seeds and blooms."

"Are we having the same conversation?" Princess Zelda wondered.

"I hope our little light flower can find the answer it's looking for." Master Hand said. He floated over to a small patch of sunflowers. "Ironic isn't it? Sunflowers are considered to be the happiest of flowers."

"We really aren't having the same conversation." Princess Zelda sighed.

"Yet, the sunflower here in the Smash Mansion is the saddest. Lucas ran away last night." Master Hand said.

"What? Was he working with the people who attacked?" Princess Zelda said shocked.

"No." Master Hand replied. "It was just an unfortunate coincidence."

"We should look for him then." Princess Zelda suggested.

"No." Master Hand replied. "We wouldn't be able to find him, and we can't divert any more energy from our current plans."

Princess Zelda just stood there. "Understood." She said.

"We just have to pray for the best." Master Hand said.

A stick snapped behind them, and the two of them turned to see Villager emerging from the forest, with his bug net slung across his shoulder. He was looking at them in shock. "Is that true?! Lucas ran away?" Villager managed to say.

"Yes." Master Hand said floating towards Villager. "I'm sorry you had to hear that. I'm sorry if you came here to play with them today, but I'm going to have to send you away."

"I didn't come here to do that." Villager said. "Last night, I saw some creatures going towards the mansion from Smashville, one attacked me, and I hit it back in self defense with a stone in my slingshot, and well killed it. But no one came to take the body away… so… I brought it here."

He opened the bug net a bit to reveal the now dead spherical pink creature.

"Princess Zelda, go get Dr. Mario!" Master Hand ordered. "Villager, come inside. You're going to have to tell us everything you saw about these creatures."

Villager just nodded.

Elsewhere, another story begins…

To be continued…

* * *

_"Something's gone wrong in the happy-go-lucky world of Nintendo!"_

_~ Super Smash Brothers, Nintendo 64, North American Commercial_

* * *

**And that's the end of the first chapter... *Exhales* **

**And so it begins. Looking at the word count 11,000+ words. I'm not going to over inflate the all ready large word count with long author notes. So just the quick and mandatory ones:**

**No real action yet. This was just to establish things on the Smashers side. My original draft had this and what will be Chapter 2 and this combined, all as one long intro. But with how long it was getting, I figured we'd meet the OC next chapter. Originally it was also mostly all the OC's but then I felt it kind of focused way too much on him, so I just kept on adding in more and more Smasher stuff.**

**For those doing the math, and dreading it, there isn't going to be 14 main OC's. (Nugai, his successor, 12 others) Nugai is taking a backseat role. Not all 12 will survive the elmination game.  
**

**My main idea is if the worlds/dimensions are crossing over, how would people react to monsters appearing and stuff. How would humanity fight monsters?**

**The Smash 4 Smashers won't be fully here yet. They'll be in the story eventually as Smashers… but for right now Villager's, Greninja's and MegaMan's appearances in this chapter are what you're getting.**

**Towards the end, I was actually debating about having the Villager kidnapped by the army.  
**

**References:**

**"What was his name?" "Lane." Lane is actually one of the default names in EarthBound. The last one before it switches back to Ness. The intent there was that Nugai was crying about the Ness that he befriended in Trapped in the Brawl, and this Ness being a different Ness.  
**


	2. The calm before the storm

**And here's chapter 2! And the arrival of an OC! Or two or three… **

**With Saki and Isaac taking center stage right now, I wanted the Assist Trophies and Pokeball pokemon taking a big role… More at the notes at the bottom…**

* * *

Chapter 2: The calm before the storm

It all began one Sunday night. The sky was clear. You could see the stars shining up above, and the lights from the town below did nothing to obscure the view. Yet, for some reason, it was strange. There was something mystical about it.

Shooting stars began to fall. Sitting out on a deck was someone watching them. "How nice!" He said. He was just hoping to get some fresh air to clear his mind before he went back to studying for a test that he had the next day. He just inhaled, and stretched his body and watched as the shooting stars continued to shoot across the sky.

As soon as it was over though, he went back inside. Back into the light. He had short brown hair, and an average build. He wasn't anything special. He wasn't gifted with an extreme athleticism, or good looks. He was just someone who was completely average. His name was Alex. He quickly turned around to double check if he had locked the back door. As he walked up the stairs and into the room he paused. On a dresser, there were two charging 3DS's. On one, more specifically his, an aqua blue colored 3DS with the Mark of Mastery Kingdom Hearts case, there was a pulsing blue light.

"A SpotPass?" he said confused. He looked at the other 3DS, a midnight purple with no special case, that belonged to his brother, strangely it was also charging however there was no notification. He double-checked to make sure the wireless light was still on his brother's. It was.

He just opened his 3DS and saw the notification for a system update. He went through the motions and activated the update.

The progress bar appeared and much to his surprise, it was taking a while. Normally his updates were actually rather fast, their internet was practically lightening fast in at least downloading stuff, uploading on the other hand… yeah it was complete garbage.

"What ever..." he muttered. Just assuming that his brother was online looking at videos on youtube, or downloading some torrents.

He returned to his desk and began to read through his notes once again. After he was confident in how much he had studied, he glanced back at the 3DS that he had left open on the dresser. The download hadn't completed yet.

Alex glanced up at the router. It was blinking like crazy. He just thought for several seconds, wondering if it was a large update. Then again, he was positive that he would of heard about it on the Internet earlier.

He just sighed. "Ah well, maybe in the morning." He muttered, walking over and lightly shutting the 3DS. He did one quick round of the house, making sure all windows and doors were locked before finally going to bed.

* * *

A lone person sat in a dark room, looking at a wall of monitors. His fingers tapped the arm of his chair, trying to make a rhythm.

"It's been just a little bit over 6 years, and time grows short." He said. "Nugai… Is everything ready?" He said to no one.

He closed his eyes. Across the screens, they now began to display a starry sky, followed by shooting stars beginning to rain down.

"Ready or not, it begins..." He said.

* * *

Lucas had snuck aboard the ship that Saki and Isaac had taken to travel to the other world. For the longest time, before he felt the engines starting, he was afraid that Master Hand would find him, and take him out of the ship from his hiding place of one of the cupboards in the ship's kitchen. But, that never happened, and soon they were on their way out.

But as the ship was escaping, he felt every attack hit it. He bounced around in the cupboard. The pots and pans that he was sharing it with began to hit and pile on top of him. Other things began to rattle, and he hit his head off of the cupboard's ceiling.

He did his best to suppress a cry, afraid that Saki or Isaac would discover him.

Soon, it stopped, and it was mostly clear sailing until the crash landing. Using his psychic abilities to brace himself, he didn't take the crash landing as badly as someone who wasn't strapped in normally would.

Yet, his whole world was spinning. He heard Saki and Isaac talking. Lucas was finding it hard to actually concentrate on them. He made something out about them moving the ship away from where they crashed, and activating the cloaking device on the ship and starting there search tomorrow morning.

Lucas just nodded. That sounded like a good idea... getting some sleep. He stayed conscious long enough to see them going into two separate bedrooms and closing the doors. He made his way to the third. The third was much smaller than the other two; it consisted of two single beds, and a washer and drier for some clothes. Lucas figured they wouldn't be checking this room tomorrow morning. And if they did... he just simply locked the door.

He had thrown his bag of food and clothing into the closet previously. Lucas just breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he chose the correct bedroom that Saki and Isaac didn't choose. Then again, it probably made a lot more sense. Two individual queen sized beds, with the privacy of your own room, verses both of them being cramped in a single room, with only single beds.

He smiled at himself at a job well done. They never suspected a thing, and he had escaped the Smash mansion. He figured it would at least be a few hours before Ness, Toon Link, Red, or Popo woke up. They would find his note, and then what? He froze for a few seconds and glanced around the room. "No…" He said to himself. "You made your choice. You can't continue with these fights…" He just told himself.

Lucas just collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.

* * *

Alex woke up at 3 in the morning. He could have sworn off in the distance he heard a crash, but it could have just been his dreams. He just glanced at the clock. After a few minutes of tossing and turning he went to the washroom. After he was done, he returned to his room but first went over to the 3DS. It had finally downloaded its update.

He looked at the menu. It was still completely the same. For an update that took that long he was expecting some drastic changes.

He then noted that there was a new swapnote. His body just froze in shock. "But that was discontinued..." He muttered. He still kept the service on his 3DS to StreetPass with his friends, and the occasional jab of nostalgia he would have when looking through it.

He went in and looked at the note. "You have been one of those chosen. Wait for further instructions." That was all it said. He was just confused. And then he froze and looked at the writing again.

It was sloppy, barely legible. It reminded him way too much of his own writing. If he had to bet money though, it looked a lot like his cousin's writing. Still, even if it was his cousin's writing, his cousin wouldn't have been able to send him a message from where he was currently.

Soon he went back to sleep.

* * *

It was just supposed to be another boring, uneventful day in his life. When he woke up, he did his morning routine exactly the same as he did any other day. Grumbled, looking at the clock. Turned it off. Struggled to get his feet out from beneath the dog that was sleeping at the end of the bed, curled up in a ball, somehow finding his legs being the perfect pillow, and had migrated there sometime between the time he had woken up during the middle of the night and now. He forced himself up to get to the washroom first. Took a leak, showered, dried off, changed into the clothes he would be wearing for school, put on deodorant, brushed his teeth, and then walked out of the washroom to see the next person waiting at the door to get in.

He then made his way downstairs, and poured himself some cereal for breakfast, and ate. He would glance at his cell phone, that he had unplugged from the wall, and see if he had any new text messages. And then the person who went into the washroom after him would walk down the stairs and also eat breakfast.

"Are you ready for another day of school Alex?" he would ask.

Alex would just glare back. "Not really." He sighed. "Besides, why are you so cheery? You're stuck in the same boat."

"True. But I've got a good feeling about today!"

Alex just froze, the spoon only a few inches from his mouth. He glanced up at the person. "Good feeling?" Alex said confused. "You never have a good feeling."

"Well, I just woke up today, and I felt that everything was going to fall into place!" He laughed grabbing an apple that was in a fruit tray. "I don't think I've ever slept better!"

Alex just cringed. He returned back to eating his cereal. "You being positive and happy for once is scaring me Nick."

The other person just laughed.

"Well, I'm just glad that school is almost over. Just three more months of this crap, and then it will be summer holidays." Alex said.

"We can go to the cottage, and just relax there the whole summer," Nick said, as he began to peel some more fruits. "Maybe pick up some girls."

Alex laughed. "We have to work too."

"Maybe, we will see mom for a few days too." Nick said.

Alex just nodded his head. "Well, we still have three months of school to worry about." Alex replied. "Tests and the future."

"You really don't sound like how a kid your age would act." the other person said.

"Your one to talk." Alex sighed. "I need to worry about my future, unlike you, Nick."

"I worry about the future all the time." Nick replied.

"Yeah right." Alex muttered.

The other person just sat down and ate the fruit that he had cut up. When they were done, they put the dishes in the dishwasher, turned it on, and soon exited the house walking down towards the bus stop. The two were brothers. Alex and Nick. They mostly lived by themselves. Their mother was a famous author and was currently on some tour hyping up her next book that would be released in the summer. Their father they saw occasionally, but they normally didn't bring him up. He had been having an affair, and had another kid with the woman, and they eventually found out, and well, a divorce naturally occurred.

Nick had rather long messy black hair with spots of red that went down past his shoulders, and then bundled together as a ponytail, the length of his hair never escaped a comment, but he mostly just brushed it off. Alex however knew that they probably wouldn't be teasing him if they actually know him. When asked about his brother's hair he would just reply that he was apparently too lazy to go to the barber. Nick also had a rather skinny build, and was smaller only being about 5' 03", compared to Alex's 5'10". Nick's height was a rather touchy subject. He just always said that he hadn't gotten his final growth spurt yet. They waited for the bus.

Alex was constantly pacing, a nervous habit that he had, probably brought on by him having a test today. Nick on the other hand just stood perfectly still. "You've got the test in the bag, don't worry about it." He reassured his brother.

"Yeah, in the bag." Alex muttered.

"And besides, you could always cheat."

Alex just shot Nick a glare. Nick let off a laugh followed by a heavy sigh.

The bus came, and the two of them boarded it. Most of the ride was spent in silence. They transferred buses, and eventually got to their school. They split up for their classes, and mingled with their own friends. During lunch the two of them briefly met up. Both of them pulling out their 3DS' and checking if they had StreetPassed anyone. It was just the usual suspects in the school.

Alex was looking through his StreetPasses. Getting more and more annoyed that no one had any new puzzle pieces. He was pretty much done going through all of the rooms in Find Mii II. It would probably take him another week if he decided not to use the 290 coins that he had to clear it that night.

"What's the plan for tonight?" Nick asked.

"No idea." Alex sighed. "Get home, eat. That's about it. You?"

"Nothing." Nick sighed. "I was thinking about stopping at a store on the way home, but what I was going to pick up can wait."

Alex just nodded.

"How did the test go?"

Alex just cringed.

"That well?" Nick said.

"I ran out of time, and couldn't finish the last two questions." Alex replied.

"So, you'll be fine." Nick said.

"Probably." Alex laughed. "Still, I wish I had finished. Ah well… Hey, so I've been thinking."

"About what?"

"Smash 4." Alex laughed. Nick just rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, you're excited too."

Nick just grumbled something underneath his breath.

"Just that if they announce the release date, and it's not a world wide release, I've been thinking about just importing a 3DS from Japan…" Alex replied.

Nick was just silent. "That's all?" He asked, actually a little frustrated.

"Well… There are a few other things I guess…" Alex laughed. "Mostly what characters I want in."

"They can wait."

"Come on, aren't you excited to see if you're in it." Alex teased.

Nick just looked around nervously. "I'm sure Miis will be in it. Now, I'll talk to you later at home." He said seriously.

He got up and ran off, probably getting a bunch of glares from the various teachers who were on duty. He was far to fast for them to actually say anything. Alex just sighed, and began to dissect his lunch, just the poutine that was from the cafeteria. Normally he would of packed his lunch last night but he was so busy studying for the test that he just gave up and decided to burn some money buying the overpriced crap… it wasn't even good poutine either, he felt like he was going to have a stomach ache for the next few hours because of it.

As he was finishing up, he then heard over some students talking behind him.

"Did you see the meteor shower last night?"

"Yeah, I heard one fell nearby outside of he city!"

"_Interesting."_ Alex thought. He just finished up his food. _"Maybe I'll go looking for it, I need some exercise to work off this garbage."_

* * *

Nick was running through the hallways, several of the on duty teachers shouted out for him to stop, but he just ignored them. However he was suddenly grabbed by a group of people. "Hey, shrimp." One said. "You're coming with us."

Nick just began to raise his hand, ready to do something, but suddenly a devilish smile crossed his face. _"I haven't had fun in a while…"_ he thought.

They just dragged Nick out of the school and into a forest that was right beside it. "All right, you're going to give us your money." One said.

Nick just sighed. "Really?" He said bored.

"Yeah!" One said. "Now you're outnumbered, 6 to 1."

"A pokemon battle then." Nick said. Everyone just looked at him a bit confused by his attitude. "It's been so long since I had a good fight. School has been so boring… I've been wanting a time to sharpen my claws!" he stretched out his fingers and they began to crack.

"Hey. Just give us your money, and we'll let you go." Another said.

"You're weak." Nick laughed. "I can't wait to show you just how weak you actually are! You'll be tasting dirt soon enough…"

"Are you even listening, or do you need some motivation?"

"My claws haven't gone through flesh in so long… I wonder how much you'll scream in fear…" Nick said licking his lips.

"Hey you dumbass!" One shouted swinging a branch right for Nick's head, however he jumped up into the air to avoid it.

"You guys are the dumbasses." He laughed. "You wasted your first three turns, while I used Nasty Plot three times… Now let's have some fun…" Nick began to glow with a dark aura, suddenly a pitch black wave of energy came from him and hit all of his attackers. They were all knocked back. He just looked around.

"What just happened?" One said getting up off of the ground.

"Why can't I see clearly?" Another shouted.

"Things have gone dark."

The six of them were beginning to regain their composure. They rushed for Nick. He just began to dodge their various attacks, letting them hit each other. "Master never let's me have any fun, so I hope you forgive me for trashing you!" he said, slashing one of the attackers with his hand, in the air there was what appeared to be a purple after wave. He scratched a few of them, and drew some blood.

The fight went on, but one by one they all fell. Nick just had a twisted smile across his face. He pulled up one by the hair and just glared at him. The person was terrified and began to scream.

"Don't attack me again." Nick said, as he threw him down to the ground. "Next time, I won't hold back." He just began to walk away.

* * *

In the ship, Lucas had woken up. He looked around, confused, and a bit disoriented. Then he remembered. "That's right." He muttered. "I ran away from the Smashers..."

He got up, and looked around the ship. Saki and Isaac had left it, and was now somewhere else probably doing recon duty. Lucas just grabbed his bag and got out of the ship. He looked around. He was in a forest, and there was a river nearby. The place looked rather peaceful to him. He just began to make his way through the forest, after about 10 minutes of walking he stopped. He found a small cave on what looked to be a rocky cliff side. He grabbed a nearby stick and lit it on fire, and then went inside the cave. It only went back about 10 meters, and it didn't appear to be a wild animal's den. So Lucas just sat down. For the time being this would be his secret base. He just began to rummage through his bag. He had gotten enough rations from the Smash Mansion to last two weeks.

"I'll figure everything out by then…" He said to himself.

* * *

For Alex, the rest of the school day was boring and uneventful. And then, after an eternity, the end of the day came. They made their way home on the normal bus that they took. They had to stop at a mall, where there was a bus terminal and they would transfer to the next bus to make their way home. At least that's what would have happened, but as they stood at the bus terminal. They looked at the streets and noticed that no vehicles were moving.

"What's going on?" Nick asked.

Alex just looked closer at the streets. "The street lights have no power."

The two walked towards the street to investigate further. Cars were honking. People were swearing, telling others to learn how to drive, and many other unpleasant things. Traffic was backed up for quite a while. "Looks like we might as well just walk home." Alex sighed. "It would probably be faster."

"Agreed." Nick said.

They began walking. Occasionally some people in their cars would stop them and ask what was going on. "The lights are out." Alex replied.

"That's it?" The person in the car would ask confused. "Why would that stop traffic?"

"No idea." Alex shrugged.

They walked away. Alex muttered something about him believing that everyone driving on the road were idiots incapable of driving under normal conditions, and it didn't surprise him in the least that people didn't know if the traffic lights were out you treat it like a four way stop.

On the way back to their house they had to cross some train tracks. Alex just looked forwards, but Nick on the other hand had glanced to the side, and stopped. "Alex, stop." Nick said.

Alex listened to his brother and turned to see what Nick was facing. The train tracks were uprooted and bent. It looked as though something ripped through them. "It wasn't like this, this morning, right?" Alex asked.

"I don't think so." Nick replied.

There were some others, along with some authorities. They tried to approach however someone their age stopped them. "I wouldn't recommend going any closer." he said.

The person had messy black hair and a rather vacant expression on his face. The two of them just looked at him rather confused.

"Why not?" Alex wondered.

"It's dangerous, at least that's what they're saying. I think it would be especially dangerous for you two."

"What caused it?"

"An earthquake, or at least that's what they're saying. But I think you two know the real reason."

Alex looked at Nick rather confused. "We just got here." Nick replied.

"He's probably just high." Alex sighed. "Let's go home."

They began to walk away. The person however decided to speak again. "Something else is crossing over." He said. The two of them both froze and glanced back. "It tried here but failed for some reason... And is now somewhere else trying to force its way through... But it's only the beginning."

The two of them just began to run away.

"What a weird person." Alex sighed.

"Indeed." Nick replied.

"There is something about him that I don't like." Alex said. "He let off this strange aura."

Nick just shrugged. "You probably shouldn't be talking about auras right now. What if they are still following us?"

Alex glanced back; however he saw no one there. "You're right, if they were, they might ask questions."

"And beyond that… he knew…" Nick said.

Alex just nodded in agreement. "I got that feeling too." He said. "But, I don't think we should worry about that. Let's just get home."

"In that case, race you home." Nick suggested.

Alex nodded. And the two began to run as fast as they could. In the end, Nick had managed to run further than Alex and decided to stop to allow Alex time to catch up. "You're far too slow." Nick laughed.

"Sorry that I can't keep up with you." Alex replied, gasping for air. "You win this round."

"Maybe one day you'll be able to catch me." Nick laughed. He was strangely not out of breath.

They walked the rest of the way back to their house. Eventually, they got back home. Immediately, Alex turned on the TV, and began to check to see what happened on the Internet. On the local news sites, he saw it was reported as an earthquake.

Alex pulled out his 3DS and noticed that the StreetPass light was flashing. He looked at it confused for a moment and opened it up. Going to the Mii plaza and seeing that the Mii that was waiting for him at the gate was identical to the weird person.

His greeting wasn't even something like "Hello." Instead it was "Let's Survive."

Alex was just rather confused. But at least he found out that the person's name, or at least the name he gave the Mii was Tei. "What a weird person." Alex sighed.

He got up off of the couch and just grabbed his coat. "Where are you going?" Nick asked.

"Out for a walk." Alex said.

Nick just glanced at his brother. "Where to?"

"A meteor apparently landed near here from the meteor shower last night. I want to see if I can find it." Alex said. "That and I need some fresh air, and I want some more exercise to work off that stupid poutine..."

Nick just nodded. "All right, I'll stay here then..."

* * *

Saki and Isaac had finished their preliminary scan of the area where they had landed. They had moved the ship into the forest after they crashed, and looking out they were able to see that their entrance had gotten the attention of the locals.

"Well, the good news is we've got all the recon data for them when they come over." Isaac sighed. "The bad news is our communications are completely gone, and we can't contact them. Everything else seems to be working though as far as I can tell."

Saki just cringed. "Great, I hope they know that we're still alive."

"I hope they're still alive." Isaac said. "The mansion was under attack as we were escaping after all."

Saki just nodded. He went over and poured a cup of coffee.

"I guess we need to go onto phase two of the plan." Isaac said. "Finding this successor to Nugai, and then find out what happened to Nugai."

Saki just let out a yawn. "Really do we have to?" He said.

"It's our mission." Isaac replied.

"Our mission can wait until tomorrow." Saki said. "I think I'm suffering from jet lag."

"Yeah right." Isaac muttered.

"Besides, I kind of want to figure out who that stowaway was." Saki said.

"Stowaway?" Isaac questioned.

"Someone else came with us to this world. They're no longer on the ship though." Saki said. "But some of their scent still lingers here. I'm going to try and find him."

Isaac just nodded. "I'll come with you then."

* * *

Alex was walking down a paved path in the forest. He would try to do this daily. It originally just started as an easy way to get his step count up and get his ten play coins daily, if he forgot to take his 3DS to school. But he liked it so much that he made it a part of his daily schedule, it was a rather easy way to actually just unwind and get his mind off the stress that school brings and other things.

He would normally just follow the paved route until it got back to the road, and then he'd walk back to his house, but he decided to do something different today. He looked at the trees along the path and found a small opening. He just walked into the forest.

For the first time in a long time he was about to do a deviation on his usual route, a deviation that would have disastrous consequences.

There was a dirt path, which went on for a few meters, and then a single chain acted as a barrier. On it was a worn down sign that said it was dangerous up ahead. He ignored it, and stepped over the chain.

The hill suddenly became much steeper, and he made his way down to a small clearing. There was a ring of rocks that made a makeshift fire pit. He knew this area was used for some small parties during the weekends and summer. He just walked past it and down to the river.

At least four years ago he would come here every day, but for some reason, one day he just stopped coming. He figured about 1000 meters in another direction housing development had begun, and he feared that it would only be a matter of time before they made their way up to this spot. But for the most part it was untouched.

He just walked along the river for a few minutes until he found some stones making a pathway across. He stepped across them to some empty fields.

He wasn't quite sure what the fields were. Untreated farmland, privet property, or yet another area that the city had yet to make into housing developments? It didn't take long to find where a meteor had landed. It was a giant crater. But there was nothing there, just a bunch of displaced ground.

He went down to the center of the crater, and looked around. Everything about the place was letting off a strange aura. There was also the feeling that something was constantly watching him.

Alex just looked around. He placed his hand on the ground and was about to close his eyes.

"There's someone here!" A voice said.

He looked back behind him, to see several people they were young adults. They quickly began to go down towards Alex. "What are you doing here?" One asked.

"I heard that a meteor landed near here last night and I went to find it." Alex said.

"It's just some kid exploring." He shouted back.

"I'm 17." Alex muttered.

"Listen, this place is dangerous, you probably shouldn't be here." The guy said.

"Then why are you here?" Alex wondered.

"We've got our reasons, not to mention, we've got a few studies to perform." The guy said. "Listen, you might not believe us, but we think this crater was made from aliens crashing on our planet."

Alex just rolled his eyes. "Okay then, I'm leaving." He said. He began to get up. There were more people. There were also several trailers. He wondered how he had not seen them earlier, but he just figured it was because his eyes were focused only on the crater. He soon saw someone wearing a white lab coat.

"Excuse me." He said. "Can you just come over here for a few minutes."

Alex just looked a bit confused and went to the person. "My name is Dr. Sakai." He said. "And since you were one of the people here that we were unable to turn away before getting closer. Our equipment has been displaying some odd readings. I'd just like to run a few quick tests to make sure that you didn't get any lethal levels of radiation or anything."

"What?" Alex said surprised.

"Don't worry about it." Dr. Sakai said. "Just please come here."

They walked into a trailer and Alex sat down on a chair. There were several dishes pointed at him. "Hmm... Nothing too big." Dr. Sakai said. "At worst, I think you might just have a few static shocks. But nothing too strange."

"You said lethal radiation." Alex said a bit concerned.

"Oh, that." Dr. Sakai laughed. "That was a lie, oh well, we'll be investigating this place. You probably should just get out of here and return back to where you came from. Our machines haven't detected any radiation yet."

Alex just walked out of the trailer, and began to go back to the river. He looked back for a few seconds. He placed his hand on the ground and closed his eyes. There was a strange otherworldly aura coming out from that crater.

"You shouldn't do that." A voice said. Alex's eyes suddenly opened. He turned to face a person who looked slightly older in a checkerboard pattern business suit, he had messy white hair. He just stood there looking over Alex. "Others are watching you know."

"Who the hell are you?!" Alex asked surprised.

"I'm an Observer." He said. "Time and time again I watch worlds to see what happens. And I know who you are Alex!"

Alex quickly jumped back. He quickly assumed a fighting position and was ready to attack this strange man if it progressed any further. "I have no interest in a fight." He said. "I just felt like stopping you, because they may be interested in your talents. You were rather lucky to get away from them unscratched. They just thought you were just some kid. If they knew who you actually were and who your pet was and what you were capable of doing it probably wouldn't have ended the same way…"

"Who are you?" Alex asked.

"I told you, I'm an Observer. We've met once before, but I'm pretty sure you don't remember that..."

"I've never seen you before in my life." Alex said.

The Observer just smiled. "That wounds me." He said. "Oh well, that's fine, I imagine you don't want to remember things from back then… I figure I should probably say something else too. I know, ah yes, that's it!" Through out all of this the Observer just seemed like he was talking to the air. He was waving his hands. He then turned to Alex. "This is the last normal day of your life." He said.

Alex just stood there. He wanted to know just who the hell this person was. But there was something in the back of his mind telling him he had heard about this guy before. But from what? Or where?

"All right, Mr. Observer." Alex said. "Tell me, what made that crater?"

The person just glanced over there. "I don't see why I should spoil that. You'll find out soon enough as they come for you." He chuckled. "We may meet again, or you may die. Your Aura will be the deciding factor."

With that the Observer just disappeared into thin air. Alex just stood there, his body was shaking, he was absolutely terrified. "What just happened?" He managed to say.

He quickly began to run back home. As he crossed the river on the stones he accidentally slipped and fell in. He just got up out of the water completely drenched. "Damn it." He shouted frustrated, followed by some rather colorful language. He could have sworn he heard some people laughing. He looked around frustrated but didn't see anything. He imagined that he was being watched from some people from up on the trail.

It was then he noticed something reflecting on the water. An aurora. Colors were dancing in an otherworldly fashion in the skies, or at least on the reflection. He looked up at the sky, but there was nothing there.

"What the hell is going on?"

He suddenly froze. It was as though he was being watched. He looked around for that strange person. But he wasn't there. He looked upstream. The water was flowing down normally, but it seemed like whatever was staring at him was there above the water just floating there. But it was just air. Nothing visible. He took a step on another stone and then froze. There was a gust of wind. But he couldn't help shake the feeling that there was a giant invisible cat or something that had just lunged past him and barely missed him. And then he heard what sounded like a muffled roar.

"No." He muttered to himself. "I'm just tired. It's been a long day at school. I barely slept last night because of the test, it's been one weird thing after another, and now I'm talking to myself. Just great... I just need to go home and sleep until tomorrow."

He quickly began to run back to his house. When he got there, his brother was just staring at him a bit confused. "Why are you in such a hurry?" He asked. "Also, why are you all wet?"

"I fell in the river." Alex said. "Leave me alone."

He went up to his room and grabbed a clean set of clothes, and then he rushed for the washroom, and quickly went under a hot shower. He just let off a heavy sigh.

Right now he imagined his words had only sunk into Nick's head and he was now laughing uncontrollably. He closed his eyes and just let the hot water rush down his face. He just stood there. After a few minutes had passed he turned off the water and put on a set of dry clothes, knowing that he wasn't going back out a pair of pajama pants and an old ratty shirt.

He went down into the basement and just tossed his drenched school uniform into the washer, and turned it on. He made his way back up stairs, and saw his brother sitting on the ground in front of the TV watching it intently. "Anything interesting on?" Alex asked.

"Not at all." Nick replied.

Alex looked a tad annoyed. "That's fine." He managed to say. "Can I switch it to the news?"

"Sure."

Alex just grabbed the remote and switched the TV to the news. Nothing too important was on. "In local news, a meteorite hit a nearby field. No one was hurt, and people are urging everyone to stay away as scientists conduct research and eventually refill the crater with dirt. Also in local news, the serial killer has claimed his 10th victim. It's currently unknown what his methods are. An autopsy has shown that the victim's internal organs had exploded, much like the previous nine victims."

Alex just turned off the TV. "Want to play something?"

"Not really." Nick replied.

Alex pulled out his 3DS and just looked at it. He began to go through the menus looking for something that had changed with that strange update. "Did you have an update on your 3DS this morning?" He asked.

"No." Nick replied. "Why?"

"I was just wondering." Alex sighed.

As he looked through the menus it became clearer that nothing had changed. And then as he got past all of his downloaded games, there was a folder. He paused for a few seconds; it certainly wasn't there yesterday. All it was marked with was a # sign. On the top screen there was something that said #13. Perhaps against his better judgment he went into the folder. However on the top screen there was just a padlock that suddenly appeared. Around it was the text. "The battle hasn't begun yet."

He remained silent for a few seconds. He didn't feel like asking Nick about this, and thought it was all too strange.

They watched some TV, before eventually deciding to call it a day and headed up to bed.

Alex went underneath his covers, and Nick curled up into a ball at the foot of his bed, before transforming into a black fox like creature with long red and black hair. "Good night, Zoroark." Alex said.

"Good night Master." Zoroark replied.

* * *

Back in the forest, where Alex had passed through, up in the trees Saki and Isaac were looking down at the crater. Both of them were rather annoyed. "They're still there." Saki said. "And we still haven't found that stowaway."

"Well on the bright side we at least moved the ship away from there." Isaac said.

Saki just nodded. He jumped down from the branch and onto the ground. "That kid though, I think we can thank him for at least giving us a bit of levity in this situation."

Isaac also jumped down. "Yeah, I think we're going to need it." He said.

"Agreed." Saki replied.

"Saki, have you been able to get back in contact with Master Hand?"

"Unfortunately no. Nothing seems to be able to get this machine to work." Saki said. "Not even when the Aurora appeared."

Isaac just cringed. "Well then, in that case I think the best course of action is to begin our main objective then."

However, the man wearing the checkerboard suit suddenly walked out from behind the trees. The two of them quickly raised their weapons. In Isaac's case a sword. In Saki's a gun like weapon.

"I don't mean you harm." He said, raising his arms up. "I just simply wished to talk to you two."

"Who are you?" Isaac asked.

"I am simply an Observer." He said.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" Saki asked.

"I just wanted to see who were the first two Smashers." He said. "And who your target is."

The two of them just looked at him. They both were suspicious of this person.

"I'm Saki, and this is Isaac." Saki said. "We were sent here to find Nugai's successor."

The Observer just smiled. "Ah, so Master Hand sent you two." He laughed. "I can see why, Nugai explained to me about your abilities."

"You've met Nugai?! Where is he now?!" Isaac asked.

The Observer just shook his head. "I'm not the one who will tell you that. He told me to only let his successor tell the Smashers chosen."

"So, I take that to mean he's in a difficult position." Saki said.

"For him, not really." The Observer replied. "He can be anywhere at any time. Well then, I wish you luck. Hopefully, we will meet again."

With that he just disappeared.

The two of them stared at the empty space for several seconds.

"Well, he was absolutely useless…" Saki said.

The Observer however reappeared. "By the way, I guess I should say that you have two days before something else crosses over. It will be hostile."

"Two days?" Saki said. "Not a problem."

"Good." The Observer said, disappearing again.

* * *

Lucas had been relaxing in the cave; currently he had a blanket wrapped around him, and the gel that he had been using to keep his hair up had run out, his hair was currently just partly covering his face. When suddenly outside he heard some sticks breaking. He just turned his attention out to there. Walking towards the cave was a boy about 13 years old wearing a long sleeved shirt. He just currently appeared to be crying.

He froze, seeing someone else in the cave.

"Hello?" He said.

"Hello." Lucas responded.

The boy just entered into the cave. "You're in my secret base..." He said.

Lucas just shook his head. "Sorry." He managed to say. "It just looked like a comfortable spot."

The boy sat down. "You can stay," he said.

"Is something wrong?" Lucas asked.

"No." The boy lied. Lucas wasn't exactly one to pry into someone's mind with his psychic abilities, he always felt that they needed privacy, unlike Ness, who thought of the whole world as an open book. Yet, even without seeing the person's inner mind, it was quite easy to see the boy lying.

"Why is this your secret base?" Lucas asked.

"It's just a bit of a walk away from my house. It's peaceful and I just feel like I can run away and live here..." the boy said. He glanced at Lucas and noticed his bag. "Why are you here?"

"I ran away..." Lucas replied.

"What's your name?"

"Lucas. And yours?"

"It's Noah. Why did you run away?"

"Stress, fear..." Lucas replied. "Everyone had things planned for me, but I never wanted to do them and I just got sick of it."

Noah just nodded weakly. "I know what you mean. I don't feel like I'm living my own life…"

Lucas just weakly laughed. "I'm afraid of what the future holds…"

"Me too…" Noah said. "Want to come over to my house and play some video games?"

Lucas just looked at Noah confused. "Video games?"

"Yeah! Well, maybe not tonight since it's getting so late… but maybe tomorrow or something…" Noah said, pulling out a 3DS out of his pocket. "Actually to tide you over right now. Here's one I'm playing currently, it's called The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. I had borrowed it from a friend at school…"

He handed Lucas the strange device. He just investigated it. Underneath it was red, but on the top there was a case with a picture of Link and Epona going across Hyrule field. Lucas just was staring at the cover.

"Link is my favorite video game character." Noah said. "He's brave, heroic, fights for everyone. Goes on grand adventures. He starts out as just a normal person, a farmer, an ordinary little boy, but becomes much stronger and slays great evil!"

Lucas just let off a weak laugh. "_If Link could hear that now…_"

"I sometimes like to think that this forest is Hyrule, and I'm fighting monsters." Noah admitted, Lucas kind of just looked up at him. "It's kind of embarrassing admitting that." He laughed.

Lucas opened up the 3DS and just looked at every button. Eventually he hit the power button. It turned on and on the lower screen it was on a strange folder. On the lower screen it was just marked with a "#" but on the upper screen there was the picture of a folder and the words "#10" it currently had a padlock over it.

"Don't worry about that." Noah said. "It just came with a strange update last night. Here, I'll show you the game."

He took the machine from Lucas and shifted over to A Link Between Worlds. He started up a new game and just explained the controls to Lucas, handing it over to him, and watched as he played, giving him advice on how to play. "You've never played videogames before, have you?" Noah said.

"No." Lucas replied.

"You're quite weird." He laughed. "From my experience, only kids that come from super strict families don't play video games. What's your family like?"

Lucas just froze. "I don't have one." He replied.

Noah just looked at Lucas confused. "I don't understand. You've got to have parents, or siblings, right?"

"My mom died a few years ago…" Lucas replied.

Noah just froze. "Mine died last year. Sorry… I didn't mean to pry… I understand…"

In the game they had made it to the sanctuary from the caves, and encountered Yuga. Soon Link was knocked out and he was woken up in his house, where Ravio had appeared. Noah just took the game back. "Sorry, I probably should be going back." He said.

Lucas just nodded.

"See ya!" Noah said.

* * *

Saki and Isaac had returned to their ship. They looked, but were unable to find any signs of the stowaway. Just two kids playing in a cave. "Think it was a traitor?" Isaac sighed. "That would explain the attack."

"No." Saki replied. "We're still alive. He would of tried to kill us if he was a traitor..."

"I guess that's fair." Isaac replied.

"Well, I'm exhausted." Saki yawned. "I guess we'll worry about our search tomorrow."

"Yeah." Isaac said.

* * *

Alex and Zoroark/Nick did their regular morning routine. The only actual deviation was Alex looking at the calendar, changing it to April, and then reminding himself and Zoroark that it would be what he referred to as 'unfunny asshole day', so he should watch his back.

As Alex got to his first class, he just sat down in his chair and put his head on his desk. He didn't sleep all that well last night. Unlike the previous night where he was awake all night thinking about the test, this time he was thinking about the crater, that strange person, the aurora. He just felt that something big was about to go down. He felt a bit ashamed that his imagination was running wild like that. But he really couldn't help it, that person telling him it would be the last normal day of his life. He was trying to think what could possibly happen during today that would make it the last normal day of his life.

"_Maybe the school will blow up, and Z and I will be the only survivors or something…_ _Damn it, you're 17 years old, stop acting like a kid... maybe this is why you can't get a date..._" He just berated himself.

The morning announcements rang and several people in the class looked around confused. The teacher was running a bit late. She was never late, and was extremely strict with the students who were. Alex just pulled out his 3DS and began to play on it. "_Hmm… What if I make Tiz a Templar…_" He just began to tinker with the various jobs of the four characters in Bravely Default, until the teacher entered the classroom.

"Sorry I'm late." She said. "However, I was just told that there was a student transferring into our school, and he has this class as a home room."

Everyone looked a bit surprised. "A transfer? Now?" One student said.

"_That is odd… It's April now…_" Alex thought. "_There is only 3 months left of school… Not to mention this being a grade 12 class…"_

Several comments like that just went through the classroom. The teacher did their best to ignore them.

"This isn't just an April's Fools joke right?" One student asked confused.

"No, it isn't." the teacher replied. "You can come in."

From the hallway walked in someone wearing the all too familiar school uniform. The person was rather over dressed, wearing the dress shirt, the vest, and adding in a tie, instead of just the golf shirt that the majority of students opted to wear. Not to mention it was kind of sort of the start of April, while it was normally cool, the snow had fully melted quite early, and there was much hotter weather than what was normal for this time of the year. Alex couldn't help but sympathize with the kid, he probably wanted to make a good first impression, or he had a parent that had set aside his clothes for him to wear, he must of been blazing hot in that stupid uniform.

He looked around a bit nervously. As nice and professional as he looked dressed up in the uniform, it was mostly ruined by the messy hair.

It took Alex several seconds to realize that the person who was standing up at the front of the classroom was the person from yesterday in front of the train tracks. Alex did his best to not make a scene. He just looked at him in shock.

"Hello," he said. "My name is Cody, and I just transferred here. I hope that the time I spend in this class will be enjoyable."

The teacher directed Cody to sit down beside Alex. "Hello again." He said as he passed Alex. "I hope we can become good friends."

Alex just looked at him like he was crazy. "That may be a possibility." Alex muttered.

Within the hour of class it became apparent that Cody was no ordinary student. From what Alex could tell he was a genius. He was constantly raising his hand, getting every answer right. People were actually amazed. For some reason, the teacher let class out ten minutes early, and Alex just began to get up.

"Um, excuse me, Alex." Cody said. "Since I'm new here, could you by chance help me around and find the remaining classrooms?"

Alex just glanced at the schedule. There was something odd about it. It was exactly the same as his own. "It looks like we have the same classes." Alex said. "Just follow me."

Cody just nodded. "Thank you." He said.

Alex just walked forwards. He suddenly froze. There was something about this whole situation; he suddenly felt that at any moment he could just be stabbed in the back. Everything emanating around Cody was just constantly saying that he was dangerous.

"So, why did you transfer in?" Alex asked.

"My family just moved here." Cody said. "That's all there is too it."

"Is that so?" Alex said, not at all believing his reason. "And us meeting yesterday."

"Nothing more than a coincidence. I was just out for some fresh air and we met."

"_Bullshit_" Alex thought. "And why did your family move here?"

"My father got a promotion." Cody said. "He now manages a different branch of where he works and it just required us moving."

"Where does he work?" Alex wondered.

"You probably haven't heard of it." Cody said.

"Try me." Alex said.

"It's called T.I.N.S.G.O.H. Corp." Cody said.

"What do they do?" Alex wondered.

"Well, it's manufacturing." Cody replied. "He's now the plant manager here."

Alex just nodded. They went to the next class, and Cody had to introduce himself to the teacher. This time there wasn't an empty seat near Alex, so Cody was at the back of the class. Once again Cody was constantly answering as many questions as he could. When the second period was over, he made his way back to Alex.

"Do you mind if I eat lunch with you?" Cody asked.

"Not at all." Alex said.

The two of them walked, until Alex saw Nick. They sat down and began to discuss the various happenings of the day. They checked their 3DS's for the various StreetPasses that they got around the school. Eventually they both stared once again at Tei and the "Let's survive." Message.

"Now, let's talk, Tei." Alex said.

"Oh, that's just my Mii's name." Cody said. "I heard that it means Emperor in Japanese, and I thought it sounded pretty cool."

"Well then, Cody, let's talk." Alex said. "I want to know how you could answer each and every question so quickly. You don't just scream genius to me."

Cody laughed. "Well, the truth of the matter is, I've stopped aging a long time ago." He said. "And I've been forced to repeat my high school years over and over again, every time I go to a different high school somewhere else in the country, and I change my name so people don't recognize me. Just kidding. I was actually nervous for my first day and wanted to leave a good impression on the other students, so I studied a bit."

The two of them looked at Cody. "About yesterday." Alex said. "When we met at the train tracks. You said you knew about the other world." Cody's expression suddenly turned serious. His eyes shifted around. "What exactly did you mean?"

"If you don't know, don't worry about it. It's probably better if you forget about it."

"I'm also concerned about your let's survive message."

"Peaceful days died. Let's survive." Cody simply said. "It's just a quote from a game. I thought it would be fun to streetpass around and make people get a bit nervous."

"You're a dick." Alex said.

"I try," Cody smiled. "It's all I really have to look forwards to these days."

Cody suddenly paused. He pulled out a cell phone from his pocket that was currently vibrating. He just looked at the phone number and got up. "I'll be back in a few minutes." he said. He got up and walked out of the cafeteria, and then outside. Alex and Nick actually decided to follow. Cody had wondered away from the school grounds, and was now out past the football and soccer field.

It certainly wasn't strange since the school was intentionally built in a dead zone and the reception was incredibly poor. But a student who just transferred in wouldn't learn that for a few days at least. "Zoroark." Alex said. "Make us both invisible."

"Of course." Zoroark said. The two vanished in thin air. Really, it was just Zoroark using his illusions to make it so that people just saw past them.

They made their way up to Cody, who didn't hear them. "Sorry about that." He apologized. "This stupid school is in a dead zone. It took me forever to actually get a signal." There were several moments of silence. Both Alex and Zoroark tried to hear what the other person was saying, but it was next to impossible to hear anything. "I found the target. You're lucky." And once again there was silence. "I was barely able to actually appeal it, and why it was necessary for me to do this as opposed to someone else." Cody glanced around. "I'm sure they're suspicious of us." He clenched his fist and just pounded it against the football goal posts. "They may want me to act. Especially since the other is posing as a human." Cody suddenly pulled the cell phone away from his ear. The two of them could hear an uncontrollable laughter. "This isn't funny, it's serious!" he shouted. "Do you have any idea how dangerous this is if the illusion breaks?! If someone else sees him? If a Zoroark just appears in the school? I heard he even had a fight yesterday!"

Alex just turned to Zoroark who just nervously laughed. "Let's return." Alex said.

They quickly returned back to the cafeteria. The two of them just sat down. "So, you fought yesterday…"

"Well… they thought they could rob me, and I just taught them a lesson…" Zoroark replied.

Alex however wasn't looking too amused. "Fine. We'll talk about this later." Alex sighed. "Anyways, it seems like he's after us."

"What should we do?" Zoroark asked.

Alex just sat there and stared at the students in the cafeteria. "I don't think we can do very much." He sighed. "At least, not here. We have to lure him elsewhere. Home is probably our best bet…"

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Probably..." Alex sighed. "But, it's not like we've got many other choices. This guy. I think we might as well just get this over with as quickly and painlessly as possible. I don't want to lose you after all Z."

"Very well then." Zoroark sighed.

Cody came back into the cafeteria. He was putting his cell phone back into his pocket, and just sat down at the table. "Sorry about that." He sighed.

"What was the call about?" Alex wondered.

"Just someone from work." Cody sighed. "Wanted to know a few things about my shift and if I'd be willing to switch it."

"You work too?" Alex said a bit surprised. Well, honestly, it wasn't that farfetched about someone their age to be working. Just this guy seemed like a giant over achiever. Not to mention, didn't he just say that he had to move because...

"Yeah." Cody said. "It gets really exhausting during the weekend. Some days it feels like there is no end in sight. Ah well. Pays nice, and has a nice dental plan."

Soon lunch was over, and Alex and Cody were off to their next class. When the day was done Alex invited Cody over to his house so they could do homework, or more importantly, talk about that phone call and find out if he was a friend or a foe.

"So, this is your house?" Cody asked.

"Yeah." Alex replied. "It's not like we would be breaking into someone else's house."

Nick began to run towards the blinds and dropped down each and every one. Then Nick reverted back into Zoroark. "Now, I want an explanation about the other world." Alex said.

Cody just looked at Zoroark, however he didn't freak out.

"I still don't know what you're talking about." Cody said.

"I think you do." Alex said. "Tei. If you didn't you would be afraid of Zoroark, confused as to why there is a fictional character here in the living room."

Cody just let off a heavy sigh. "Well then, you're just making this so much easier." He pulled out a concealed gun and pointed it at the two. "I'm apart of a government service that tracks down those who are aware of the alternate world, usually with the intention of silencing them."

"Usually?" Zoroark said.

Cody just laughed. "Yeah. It's quite a grisly job. I have to kill some people, and they're much younger than you at times. At least that's how it used to be. At the end of 2007 the doorways between the two worlds were sealed shut, halting travel."

Alex just stared rather bored, not entirely to concerned about the fact that they were being held up at gunpoint. "And?"

"Despite the doorway being sealed shut, that Zoroark still managed to get through." Cody said. "The doorway was closed December 3rd, 2007 to be exact. Pokemon Black and White weren't released until 2010 in Japan. 2011 everywhere else. Your Pokemon somehow managed to get through the barrier. And I somehow doubt it was before that day when everything was sealed."

"Your right." Alex sighed. "But sorry, I don't know how or why he came through, and Zoroark doesn't know either. He was only an egg…"

Cody just lowered the gun. "I see. Listen, if you want to live a normal life, I suggest you ditch Zoroark."

"That's not going to happen." Alex said.

Cody just glared at them. "Fine," he managed to say. "I figured I should give you a fair warning."

"Then thanks for that." Alex sighed.

"When did Zoroark appear in this world, or it's egg?" Cody asked

"2010."

"Four years." Cody said. He just put away his gun, and looked away. "I've given you one last chance, if you want to live a normal life, you best get rid of him."

"You're the second person to warn me about no longer living a normal life in a week." Alex said rather annoyed.

"Is that so..." Cody laughed. "And who was the first."

"Some guy in a suit." Alex replied.

"I see." Cody said. "Well then, until we meet again. Also I suggest that you keep Zoroark on a leash, especially since he attacked people yesterday." Cody then left the house.

Both Alex and Zoroark just let off heavy sighs. "He's going to be troublesome."

"Master, if you wish I can leave."

"No." Alex said. "You're staying with me Z."

* * *

Elsewhere, Cody was talking on his phone. "You jackass!" He snapped. "Do you have any idea of how troublesome this is going to be?! Anyways, it sounds like he met the Observer. I find it quite amazing, they weren't like a certain someone else, they actually came and confronted me." He began to laugh. "If it was anyone else, I'd probably say that was as stupid as hell, but hey they at least managed to entertain me for a few minutes. Everyone else I'd have to go through this long drawn out process of trying to get close to them and feigning to be their friend. I really like these no nonsense people. I'll keep you updated."

He hung up the phone and just sighed. "Well, at least on the bright side, things will be more interesting around here." He hid the phone and just walked towards a car. Waiting there was a person in a suit.

"Agent Tei. That was quite quick."

"It was just some introductions." Cody said. "Nothing to big."

He got into the passenger seat, and pulled out a different phone. The other person got into the driver's seat.

"Agent Tei here, it seems like whatever has crossed over yesterday has yet to make contact with anyone. I don't think it might be a mindless monster this time. It might be humans from over there." Cody said. "I also inspected Target Delta today. He is currently clueless of the affairs of both worlds, despite having a Zoroark with him as a pet. The best option would be to capture the Zoroark now."

"How much did you reveal?"

"Not much." Tei sighed. "Just that he should get rid of Zoroark as soon as possible, and if he didn't he would be in danger."

"Do you think he will abandon Zoroark?"

"No, sir." Tei replied.

"Then, if necessary, do you think you will be able to pull the trigger to silence them both?"

"If it becomes necessary. However, don't you think that it would be better to draft them into our ranks? Zoroark will be a great help." Tei asked.

"No, I don't think that would be possible with them."

"Why sir?" Tei asked.

"There are reasons. Don't worry about them though. If they begin to get too close to the truth, I want you to eliminate them both."

"Understood." Tei said.

He hung up the phone and just let off a heavy sigh. "Why don't you kill them yourself you lazy ass."

The driver just glanced at Tei. "You really shouldn't say that." The driver said.

"I know. But, geeze it's not easy to kill a human. They just treat me like a weapon."

"To them, you are a weapon sir." the driver said. "It might be best if you just stick to your mission, I do have to report to them as well, and make sure that you're obedient. I can let the odd little comment slide, but more serious stuff..."

Tei just sighed. "I know, I know. I'll continue observing them, and kill them if it becomes necessary. The hardest part though would be making it seem like an accident. His mother would have a full-scale investigation launched, and no matter what it would be publicized. We wouldn't even be able to stop the media ban on this one with out raising eyebrows and answering a bunch of questions."

"Then may I suggest a simple car accident, sir?" the driver asked.

"I'll think about the opportunities." Tei said. "However, if they don't get involved, and only fight back in self defense, I see no reason to kill them. Besides, he will be suspicious of me from now on."

* * *

"So, what was he saying about you fighting?"

Zoroark just looked rather nervous and backed away from Alex. "They had it coming. They tried to attack me and rob me... and I fought back in self-defense... I just may of over did it though, since well, I was a bit irritable and..."

"Forget it. I trust you at least used your illusions to make sure there was no witnesses." Alex sighed. "Besides, I think there are bigger things to worry about."

"Such as?" Zoroark asked.

"Cody, or Tei, whatever he's supposed to be going by. Why do I get the feeling that my simple life is just going to be screwed up... Ah screw it, I'm going out for a walk!" Alex snapped. "I'm so frustrated! Who are these people, and why do they keep saying that my normal life is ending?"

"You said someone else in a business suit approached you?" Zoroark asked.

Alex just sighed. "Yeah." He said. "I met him yesterday on the walk. Hopefully I'll meet him again, and I can get some more answers."

"Okay." Zoroark said.

Alex just walked out of the door, and what could possibly be considered as the last normal moment of his life. He followed the route that he had taken yesterday, and eventually reached the river. He just looked across. The people were still there at the crater investigating it. He let off a heavy sigh. "Well, guess it's time to try and look for that strange guy."

* * *

Saki and Isaac were in their ship. The search for the stowaway was once again fruitless; they were unable to find any sign of a path that he took. "At this point, I think that stowaway is long gone." Saki sighed.

"Yeah." Isaac replied. "I guess we should be looking for Nugai and his successor now."

Isaac began to type at the computer.

"And then we should also be looking for any other portals..." Saki said. "At least everything else still works."

Isaac just nodded in agreement. And then several things began to appear on the monitors. "Something else is emerging..." Isaac said.

And then on the monitor they saw someone in white clothes emerging from the portal.

"That's a Zenith Soldier!"

"Oh no..."

Saki grabbed his cannon sword. And Isaac grabbed his sword. The two of them rushed out of the ship.

* * *

Alex was looking rather bored. He crossed the river, and came back, but was unable to find any trace of that person he had met yesterday. He got as close as he could to the people investigating the crater as he could, but even then; he wasn't able to find anyone with that person's unique fashion sense.

"Then again, he's probably not wearing the same clothes today." Alex muttered. "But I'm sure what he would be wearing would be equally unique... great now I'm talking to myself again, I'm going crazy."

He pulled out his phone for a few seconds and just began to text Zoroark. "I found nothing. But with him disappearing into thin air, I want a second opinion from an illusion master."

"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes." Zoroark replied.

Alex just leaned back against a tree. He let out a heavy sigh.

Suddenly a kid came rushing into the clearing. He was dressed in white. It looked like a uniform. As for the kid himself, he was really pale, and honestly looked rather sickly. He had some short white hair. His eyes just met with Alex's.

Suddenly behind him two others came rushing through the trees, cutting through the branches with swords. Both were blonde. One had his hair up in a ponytail. He was wearing a yellow shirt, and had black gloves, black shorts, and boots. Upon closer inspection, his sword looked more like a gun. The other had a long yellow scarf, was mostly wearing blue, with the exception of his brown boots, and gloves, and a red chest piece of armor.

"Shit." the one with the ponytail said. "A civilian."

"This can't possibly get any worse." The one with the scarf said.

The kid took this time to rush towards Alex, and hide behind him. He was gasping for air.

Alex just grabbed a nearby stick.

"Crap." the one with the ponytail said. "Look, we don't really have a lot of time to explain this, and this doesn't really concern you, so it might be better if you just leave and forget all about this."

"And if I refuse?" Alex said annoyed.

"We don't want to hurt you." The one with the scarf said. He just raised up his hand and suddenly a golden giant hand full of energy shot out. Alex just jumped away, the hand reached where he used to be and suddenly clenched at that spot. The person in the scarf just looked in shock at Alex. "You saw that?"

"What was that?" Alex asked.

"It was just to stop you from interfering." the person in the scarf said. "Listen, you don't know what's going on."

"I know enough to see two jackasses bullying some kid half their age." Alex said. "Now what was that giant hand?"

The person with the scarf just sighed. "It's no use explaining, you're going to forget everything as soon as we leave." He said. "You probably wouldn't even believe me even if I told you."

"Try me." Alex replied.

He glanced back to see that the kid had collapsed by the tree. He was hoping that he had bought him enough time to try and get the kid to run away, to safety, or to get someone to call the cops. But that wasn't going to happen. The kid was gasping for air.

Noticing that Alex was slightly distracted, the person with the ponytail said. "Isaac, I've had enough waiting. I'm taking care of him. You get that brat."

"Saki wait!" Isaac, the one with the scarf, shouted out,

But Saki all ready rushed for Alex. He had ditched his weapon, and threw several punches right at Alex's stomach, which Alex was able to block. Saki just looked a bit shocked.

"So you can fight." Saki said smiling. "Good!"

Alex threw several punches towards Saki who just jumped back to avoid them. Alex followed up with a kick. Saki however tried to grab Alex's ankle.

"Saki, stop, we should just explain everything to him, in a calm and rational manor, and... I give up." Isaac muttered. He knew that once Saki got started in a fight, he wasn't going to listen to reason. He was just going to keep fighting until he was satisfied, an unfortunate side effect of being part Ruffian.

Saki was beginning to get a bit sloppy; letting the various punches from Alex actually connect. He got in closer, accepting the blows and delivered one to Alex, hitting him square in the abdomen, and winding him. Saki just backed up.

"Where do you think you're going?" Alex said. "The fight isn't over yet."

Saki just glanced back. "We're not here to hurt you. We're just getting that kid. You have no involvement with us."

"You're right, I don't." Alex said. "But, I'm not going to give you that kid."

Saki just glared at Alex. He could see in his eyes there was a certain fire for fighting. "If we continue, I can't guarantee your safety. Listen, we have a job to do, and unfortunately time is of the essence. We need that kid, and then we need to move on to our next target."

At those words Alex no longer hesitated; he lunched forwards and delivered a punch directly to Saki's jaw, sending him off to the side. "I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else."

"Saki you idiot." Isaac muttered. His hand was applied directly to his face. "You could have explained this better..."

Saki regained his composure and just glared at Alex. "Well then, that's your fault. Sorry."

He rushed towards Alex, however, something suddenly dropped in from the sky, and delivered a kick that sent Saki rocketing away. Standing there was Zoroark, disguised as a human.

"Damn it another person trying to play hero." Saki said. He began to get up; he however had a twisted smile across his face. His eyes had change color to red. He just looked at the two.

Isaac however walked up to him and punched him right in the stomach winding him. He followed up by waving his hands and out of nowhere a growth of vines appeared ensnaring him. "Cool down for a few minutes." Isaac said. He just turned to the newcomer and Alex.

"All right, Isaac." Alex said. "You said you wanted to calmly explain this."

"I don't remember giving you my name." Isaac said.

"Saki said it." Alex said gasping for air. "I'm Alex. Besides, you're the same as Zoroark, aren't you?"

"Zoroark?" Isaac said confused.

Zoroark dispelled his human illusion.

"You're not just cosplayers. You're from the other world." Alex said gasping for air. "You're the real Saki and Isaac."

"The real Saki and Isaac?" Isaac said a bit confused.

"It's a bit hard to explain." Alex sighed. He walked over to the tree and just collapsed against it.

Isaac pulled something out from underneath his shirt. It was the necklace with the Smash Pendant on it. He stared at it for several seconds and a fire began to emerge in it, pointing directly at Alex. "This meeting could have gone so much better." Isaac muttered. He walked over to Saki who was struggling. "Hey, if you're done acting like an idiot, I found our target."

"What really?" Saki said surprised.

The growth of vines just disappeared, and Isaac walked over to in front of Alex. He just sat down across from them. He placed his hand over the fire pit and suddenly fire began to burn. "I apologize for our actions earlier." Isaac said. "That kid that we were chasing. Where do I begin..."

"Just say the truth straight out." Alex said.

Saki just laughed. "Oh boy. Wait for it, he's going to start saying we're lying..."

"Shut up, Saki." Isaac said annoyed. "Okay, what we know is that he's a biological soldier from a corporation on our side. One of these soldiers is supposed to equate to about 10 people. All we know is that they were hired by someone and are making these soldiers to form an army."

Alex just nodded. "Okay then. You're telling the truth."

Saki just looked a bit confused. "How do you know that?"

"I just do." Alex said. "You have your secrets, I have mine."

"Well, now it's our turn for the question." Saki said. "How did you know that Isaac was telling the truth?"

Alex just paused. "I just know that Isaac would have nothing to gain from lying to me."

"You're lying." Saki said.

"My turn." Alex said ignoring Saki. "Who was your next target after that kid?"

"The kid just showed up and was never our target." Isaac replied. "We took action because he appeared from a portal. As a biological soldier, we didn't know if he'd cause damage, and we wanted to capture him or neutralize him. But our next target is you."

Zoroark just got ready to attack, however Alex raised his arm blocking him. "Z, wait. There is no aggression behind there words."

"If you say so Master."

"Why am I your target?" Alex asked.

"Hey, wait we get to ask a question now!" Saki said.

"Saki, it's fine, we'll have all our answers soon enough." Isaac said. "You're Nugai's successor."

Alex's grip suddenly tightened on the wooden stick that he had. Saki and Isaac began to feel that they had to tread lightly; otherwise they would end up regretting this.

"And how do you know that?" Alex asked.

Isaac reached for his Smash pendant. He took it off of his neck and Saki did the same. Isaac grabbed Saki's pendant and walked over to Alex. "We both have one, they're called Smash Pendants, and they point to what we're looking for. Master Hand told us to look for Nugai's successor."

Alex reached for a necklace that he was wearing, and pulled out a Smash Pendant. "It looks exactly like my cousins..." He muttered. "So, you're the real deal then. From the other world."

"Yes, we're Smashers." Isaac said.

Alex just laughed. "The Smashers. So, this is what everyone meant when yesterday was supposed to be my last normal day of my life."

The two of them just looked confused at Alex. "All things considered, you're taking this rather well. Two strange men, chasing after a kid, your told that he's a biological weapon, then you're told that we come here to meet you."

"Yeah." Alex replied, letting off a heavy sigh. "My cousin, the person you know as Nugai, told me that the video game worlds were real… I don't know why, maybe I'm just a gullible idiot, but I believed him. Anyone else would just call him insane, but I believed him. And now I've got two assist trophies from Super Smash Bros. Brawl in front of me."

"Assist Trophies? Super Smash Bros. Brawl? What's that?" Saki asked confused.

Alex just paused for a few seconds. He didn't know how to explain it; it just felt like something natural to him, something that he just assumed that people would know about when he was talking to them about it. "It's the third game in the Smash Brothers franchise." Alex said. "It's a fighting game, and well, it's probably better if I just show you. Can you follow me home?"

"Yeah of course."

They all got up, however, Alex glanced over at the boy who was still unconscious behind the tree. He walked towards him. "What are you doing?" Saki asked.

"We can't leave him out here." Alex replied.

"We can and will." Saki replied. "He's a weapon."

"I could say the same about you." Alex coldly said. "Listen, I don't care about your struggles, or what you think about them. He needs medical attention right now."

"And do you think you can give it to him?" Saki said.

"No, but it's better if he's in a house than outside. I can at least give him some food and water and dry clothes." Alex said.

"If you're going to house him, I want no part of it." Saki said. "Isaac, I'm waiting in the ship."

And with that, Saki was off. Isaac couldn't stop him. He just froze and looked at Alex and Zoroark. "I have to apologize for Saki's rashness." He said. "These soldiers have caused a lot of destruction in our world."

"How about I just show you where I live, and then you can get Saki and come back." Alex said.

Isaac nodded. "Very well then."

Alex and Zoroark grabbed the young boy. Alex started with him on his back, and then when they made it back to the road, they switched who was carrying him. "Geeze he weighs a ton." Alex said.

"Seems like no different than all of the text books." Zoroark said.

"You're just too strong for your own good." Alex sighed.

They walked back to their house. There were a few people out working on their gardens or walking their dogs that they passed, but not one stopped to ask why they were carrying a young 11/12ish year old kid on their backs, or Isaac's odd attire. Alex figured that Zoroark had used an illusion to make the kid invisible, and Isaac was wearing normal clothes.

They soon got to the rather big house. Isaac was just staring in shock. "You live here?"

Alex just nodded. "Yeah. It's not that much. Kind of too big for just Z and I."

"Okay, I'll return to Saki, and try to talk some sense into him." Isaac sighed.

Alex just nodded, and watched as Isaac departed, it looked like he dropped something in the bushes as he passed. As Alex got to the door he heard a rustling in the bushes. He glanced and there was a brown rather plump creature about the size of a squirrel with blue beady eyes, and what looked like a shark's tail. It wasn't like anything he had seen before.

"What is that?" Zoroark asked.

Alex just looked at it confused. He approached it, but it quickly hid back the bushes. "Must be something Isaac left… A djinn maybe?"

Zoroark just nodded accepting the answer.

He just made his way inside, and the closed the door. They then walked up to a spare room and placed the boy down on the bed.

"Get some clothes," Alex said. "I think the first matter of business is that we change him into something a bit more comfortable."

Zoroark nodded. "There should still be some small clothes, though they might be a bit big on him."

And then Zoroark ran off to search for the clothes. Alex just gently began to shake him. "Excuse me?" Alex said. "Are you okay?"

The boy began to open his eyes. He looked around surprised, and began to get his bearings. "Where am I?" He asked.

"You're in my house. You collapsed in the forest." Alex replied.

He just went silent. It was as though his mind was trying to process everything. "Where were those people who were chasing me?" He asked.

"They returned to their ship for now." Alex replied. "Listen, can you tell me a bit about yourself. They described you as a weapon."

"I am..." the boy replied.

Alex just was silent. "Um... What's your name?"

"San." The boy replied. "Did you chase off those people?"

"No, not really." Alex said. "They just didn't want to hurt me, and left."

"You don't look strong enough... Especially if those two were serious." San replied.

There was suddenly a knocking at the door. Alex just went over, and standing there was Zoroark. "Here." He said tossing the clothes. Alex just caught them. "I'll be downstairs."

Alex just nodded. He turned to San. "Listen, you need to get out of those clothes, and into something dry. Also, you're filthy, you should take a shower too." San nodded in agreement. Alex then led him to the washroom. "Sorry about these clothes, they may be a bit loose on you, but we worked with what we had..."

"Thank you." San said.

"Oh, and be careful, the water is reversed. Hot is cold, cold is hot." Alex said.

San just nodded, before closing the door. Alex let off a heavy sigh and made his way down into the TV room. He glanced at the clock on the wall, it was all ready 6PM. He just let off a heavy sigh. "Today is going by way to fast." Alex muttered. "We haven't had dinner yet..."

Zoroark just laughed.

He reached for the remote controller and flipped it to the local news. He began to run throughout the house getting some food to prepare, in between making sure that the food wasn't boiling over on the stove, he rushed back to TV room to catch snippets of the news.

"And now we have a local news story. Born and raised in this town, after highschool he set out and built up a company known as Zenith."

The President of Zenith appeared on the screen. A box appeared, revealing his name, Thomas.

Alex was honestly rather surprised at how young the person was. He had to only be a couple of years older than him. Just short black hair and a rather expensive suit that he looked really uncomfortable in.

"By the end of the summer we will have our first product ready. Previously, we had a prototype about 6 or 7 years ago, and during our tests ran into some huge problems." Tomas said. "At the time, everyone was furious when we scrapped that plan, but I think it's for the best. I wish for you all to await our product unveiling on August 24th."

"I'm sure the world is excited to know what corporations, countries, and private investors have seen."

"Yes, I can only hope that our product will live up to those rather large expectations that people have."

"I wonder what it is." Zoroark said.

Alex just sighed. "We'll find out."

He returned back to the kitchen. Zoroark kept him posted on the local news, but nothing more of the crater was said. When the food was done he reached for two plates and then froze. He remembered that San was here in the house. The water had stopped running a while ago, and San still wasn't down there. He kind of at least expected the kid to come looking for them. Alex just got up, and walked up to the guest room. San was just sitting at the edge of the bed, looking off into space. The clothes that they had given him were rather loose. "San, why don't you come down?" Alex said. "We've got food, and then afterwards we can play some games or watch some TV or something."

"Okay." San said.

They ate dinner at the table. Partway through the doorbell rang. Alex just stood up, and walked to the door. He was thinking of ignoring it, thinking that it was most likely just door to door salesmen, but when he got there, Saki and Isaac were standing there.

"Come in, I made enough food for you too." Alex said.

The two of them just walked into the house. They got food from the pots on the stove, and then Alex escorted them into the dining room. Saki just froze and stared at San. San stopped eating, and just was staring at them terrified. "Why is he here?" Saki asked.

"San is a guest, just like you." Alex calmly replied sitting down, and returning to his meal.

"San? Is that his name?" Saki said a bit confused.

"Yeah. What about it?" San asked.

"You are one of those soldiers, right?" Saki said. "Because that name isn't on our intel."

"Shows how much your intel sucks." San replied. "Then again, you're not even Smashers. Just their rejects."

Saki reached for his cannon sword, however Alex grabbed his wrist, and stopped him from raising his hand up.

Alex just cleared his throat. "Look, I know this is probably my fault, but can we just ignore the hostilities towards each other for a few minutes." They all just glared at him. "Just a thought..."

Dinner went by awkwardly. When it was done, they just all continued to sit down, across from each other and continuing to glare. Zoroark had taken then dishes to the kitchen and put them in the sink to be cleaned later, while also simultaneously, taking Saki and Isaac's weapons, so they wouldn't make a mess of the place.

"Now then, can we not fight?" Alex sighed.

"Fine." Saki said. "You were going to explain how you knew us, and our world."

"Right..." Alex sighed.

Saki's attention however turned to San. "But first, why is he in this world? And if you're thinking of housing him, maybe you should know his story too."

Alex just nodded. "I was hoping to learn."

San just laughed. "If I tell you, you'll be a target. Although, if you're aligning yourselves with the Smashers, you'll be our target anyways. And if you continue to house me you'll be a target anyways. The only thing you can do to continue to live a normal life would be to kick us all out right now."

"All ready someone from the government has approached me because of Zoroark." Alex said. "So, I'm a target all ready."

"Fine." San said. He turned to Saki and Isaac. "I ran away. As poor as your intel is, you must at least know that everyone there doesn't have free will. That the soldiers are just pawns. Those that do get free will have only one choice, dieing. They are either eliminated, or try and run away and die then."

"So you ran." Alex said.

San just nodded. "There is a legend among the soldiers, and scientists. That only one other person had escaped from that place. He is known as the First San. He escaped, and no one was ever able to find him."

"And you wanted to find the First San?" Alex wondered.

"No." San replied. "If he did escape, he'd long be dead anyways."

"Why's that?" Alex wondered.

"In exchange for super human strength, and power, their life expectancy is very short." Saki said. "Our intel says 20 years at the maximum."

San just nodded. "And that's on the extreme luck side of the scale... Besides, if the First San was real and not just a myth, he would be thousands of generations ago. Back then; the life expectancy was much shorter. About 13 or so. Our lives are also accelerated, so we reach about the age of an 8-year-old human in only a few weeks. To you this must sound like science fiction."

"I believe it." Alex replied.

"Come to think of it, you're quite mysterious yourself." Saki said, glancing at Alex. "We were told to find Nugai's successor. But, now that we're here, and looking at you face to face, I don't know, you're far too plain. Yet at the same time, you give me chills."

"I'm just a normal human." Alex replied.

"You're lying." Saki said. "You're not normal. There's something about you. There had to be a reason why Nugai chose you."

"Personal biases are my guesses." Alex replied shrugging.

"So, you've met with Nugai?" San asked.

"No." Isaac said. "He met with Master Hand, and then departed just as quickly as he came. Only interacting with the kid Smashers. And even then, just a limited amount to get to Master Hand."

"Well, since you've answered my questions so far, I'll answer one of yours. The man you know as Nugai, is my cousin." Alex replied.

"Nugai's cousin, eh?" San laughed.

"Oh, seems like the brat has even heard of him." Saki said annoyed.

"He's only considered the biggest threat to everything." San said. "To our mission."

"Fusing the two universes, right?" Alex said.

San just nodded.

"Now that you've run away from them though, what are you going to do?" Alex asked.

"If I return with you, they may forgive that. But I doubt it. I now have free will, I'm not a puppet like the others, I'll be sentenced to death. Even knowing what I do, it's pointless, since they won't listen." San said. "I'm a traitor, it's as simple as that. I will be a traitor until one of us dies, I'm their enemy now."

"So, Saki, Isaac, he's our ally now, you got that?" Alex said.

"Sure." Saki said, not exactly all too enthusiastic of the prospect. "Now then, my next question: where is Nugai, can we meet him?"

"No, you can't." He said.

"Why? Is he dead?" Isaac asked.

"No." Alex sighed. He collapsed on the chair. "He's perfectly fine, we just can't get to him."

"Really, so, where is he now?" Isaac asked.

Alex just looked up at the two of them. He cringed and looked around the room a few times. He didn't want to answer it but after ten seconds of silence he had finally mustered up the courage to say it.

"An insane asylum." Alex sighed.

The three just looked at Alex in shock. "What?" They said.

"My cousin is in an insane asylum." Alex replied.

"This is just crazy." Saki said. "Why? What happened? Why would he be there?"

Alex just looked at the ground. "One day, he decided that the best way to try and stop the worlds from fusing was to announce that plan, and that people planned on making the worlds fuse. It went as about as well as you would expect it to."

"Why would he do that?" Isaac wondered. "He can't be insane."

"He isn't." Alex said. "He sits there in the insane asylum just waiting for something to happen."

"Like what?" Isaac asked.

"I don't know." Alex replied. "I've gone to visit him, but he never has really said anything to me. He just asked if school was doing fine, and if I was making friends just fine."

"And are there others that go to visit him?"

"Not really." Alex sighed. "Most of the family members have decided to forget about him, and have now left him completely alone. He just sits in his cell waiting."

"What could he be waiting for then?" Saki wondered.

"If I'd have to wager a guess, the worlds to be fused and him to be seen as correct so he could go free." Alex said.

"I doubt that would let him go free." Isaac said.

"It most likely won't happen." Zoroark sighed. They sat there in silence, the two Smashers now thinking about the new information that they had.

Saki pulled out what appeared to be a cell phone. "I still can't contact the Smash Mansion." He said frustrated. "Geeze. That attack..."

"Well, I think we should at least write down this new information for when we are able to contact it." Isaac said.

Saki nodded in agreement and began to type something on the phone. "'Nugai, status alive, unable to battle.' How does that sound?" He asked.

"Close enough." Isaac said.

"'Nugai's successor found. Currently unknown if willing to help us.'"

"I'm willing to help." Alex said. "Just I don't think full time. I've got other things to worry about, I'm a high school student, and then college next year..."

"Okay, 'currently able to help part time.'" Saki said. They just nodded several times.

Alex glanced at his glass and noticed that it was empty. "I'm getting more water, would you guys like some?" He asked.

The three just nodded. Alex then got up and grabbed their empty cups, and left the room.

Saki and Isaac were glaring at San. They weren't fully ready to trust him just yet. "You think we're behind the mansion attack?" San asked bluntly.

"Well, it's a hypothesis." Isaac replied. "We escaped from an attack, you appeared in this world. You escaping from them during the confusion of battle."

San just grabbed his arm and looked away in fear. "What you said is partly true." San said. "We weren't fully responsible for that attack... but we did take part in it. I used the confusion to escape..."

Saki stood up, however Zoroark, immediately got on the table between them. "Let San speak." Zoroark said.

San was just beginning to shake. He hugged himself tightly. "He appeared... saying that we were after the same thing, the fusion of the two universes. Saying he intended to attack the Smash Mansion, seemingly knowing about your plans about going out that night, and sending others to the other world. The scientists agreed, giving him five squads."

"Who is this person?"

"I don't know." San said shaking.

"Then what good are you, brat?" Saki muttered.

"Everything about him was terrifying. Everything he said was wrapped in a nice and joking tone, but every little bit of him radiated with cruelty." San said. "He viewed everyone as pawns to do his bidding."

"Sounds like a very bad man." Alex said returning with some cups and a pitcher full of water. "So, you were saying that there was an attack, and you haven't been able to contact the mansion since?"

"That's correct." Saki sighed. "I don't know why, maybe it's because the hole isn't big enough, or there is still a time delay."

"The ship said that time was pretty much 1:1." Isaac said. "Still, that doesn't make any sense why we can't contact them."

"I only hope it's just the Smash Mansion's communications were knocked out because of the attack." Saki said. "It could be something else though, such as an external source jamming the signal, or intercepting it, or something."

"So, what happened anyways with this attack?" Alex asked.

"Well, it happened as we were preparing to leave, so we actually had to leave super quickly, because the mansion was under siege." Saki said.

"Actually, here let me explain." Isaac said. "The Smashers is a group that fights for peace. And well, we have a bunch of people who oppose us. They either somehow knew of our plans to try and stop the worlds from fusing, or knew that we would be working against them. And they attacked us so that it could benefit them and they could help get the worlds to fuse."

"So, there are those on your side that would benefit from the worlds fusing?" Alex asked.

"Of course." Saki said. "Or they just want to create chaos where they could be unopposed."

Alex nodded.

"But anyways yes, the Smash Mansion was attacked." Isaac began.

Isaac began to recount the attacks, how they went through various forms of security. Occasionally, Alex and Zoroark would stop them, asking questions, and they would answer them to the best of their ability. "Well, there are multiple levels, Polygons are the weakest, Wireframes are stronger, and Alloys are armored Wireframes… But if any is set to Cruel, they immediately become much stronger, and deadlier."

"So, it's just like Multi Man Brawl, and cruel brawl…" Alex said. "Multi Man, they use their numbers to try and overpower you, while they can be knocked away effortlessly. But cruel, they can knock you away effortlessly, and it's difficult to survive."

"Exactly." Saki said.

Their explanations continued. Until eventually…

"And that's what we know." Isaac finished.

"Thinking back, considering the damage that the ship does have, it's almost a miracle that we made it." Saki said. "The ship's diagnostic said that it wouldn't be able to warp."

"So was your ship the meteor shower?" Alex wondered.

"Probably." Isaac said.

"And then you also created that crater." Alex said.

The two just nodded. "Where is your ship now?" Alex wondered.

"Hidden." Saki replied. "Where no one will be able to find it."

Alex wasn't entirely too sure about that. He took a drink of water and just thought about everything for several minutes. "So, do you think the other Smashers are fine?"

"Yeah." Saki said. "Master Hand might have unleashed the Cruel Alloys. They would of been defeated in a matter of minutes if they were lucky."

"Worse case scenario they're all dead though." Zoroark pointed out.

"True." Saki said. "But, we have ways of surviving, and besides, Master Hand wouldn't allow that to happen. The Smashers won't be defeated that easily. We'd go out in a bang if we did die. Not in some cowardly cheap sneak attack."

"Well, I guess we can only hope that it's just the communication lines that were destroyed in the attack." Alex said. "Two videogame characters are stranded in our world, after an attack on their HQ, and now people on both ends want to make the worlds fuse. This almost sounds like an adventure. And here I was beginning to think that life was going to be boring, nothing exciting ever goes on here, and that I had to deal with a large amount of boredom this summer. Well, Saki, and Isaac, I'll do my best and help you in any way I can."

"That's great!" Saki said.

"I'll even let the three of you stay here." Alex said.

"Why? What about your parents?" Isaac inquired. "You can't possibly live here alone."

"The house is my mom's but she's gone out and won't be back for at least a month." Alex replied. "If she does show up, she usually gives plenty of notice."

"Does she know about Zoroark?" Saki wondered.

Alex just laughed. "Well, no. I'm pretty sure she just thinks he's one of my friends, who just happens to have been kicked out of his house and is now staying here."

"I see." Isaac said. "Well, if she comes home as a surprise, how are we going to keep it a secret?"

Alex just glanced over the two of them. "Well first, ditch the clothes. You're going to have to be much more casual over here. Well at least you Isaac. Saki, I think you might be able to get away with that if you loosen up, and look more casual. But yeah, the armor definitely has to go. Especially if you're in public."

Isaac just nodded. "Very well then." he said.

"How long do you plan on staying in this world anyways?" Alex wondered.

"As long as it takes to clean up this crisis and to make sure that the worlds never fuse. It could take days, it could take weeks, months, or even years."

"I hope it doesn't come to that." Alex sighed. "Personally, I'd like this done by the end of summer. I've got my life ahead of me, and well, there are things I'd like to do."

"Well, all we can do right now is just do our best." Saki said.

San just looked at them, he felt left out, however Alex just walked over to him and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Now then, it's Tuesday, so it's normally Mario Kart night." Alex sighed. "I guess I still haven't explained how I know all of you. I guess that's next... So, since we have 5 people I guess that leaves out the SNES one. So, 64, Doubledash, Wii, with one person sitting out... or I guess we could do download play with DS and 7..."

The three just looked at Alex like he went crazy.

"Ah well, just follow me." Alex said. "All will become clear in a few minutes."

They just followed Alex down some stairs into the basement. He turned on some lights and walked into a room. And they followed him in. "Saki, and Isaac, to me you are nothing more than video game characters." Alex began. "Welcome to my collection."

They looked around; there were several shelves with tons of different games. Alex just walked forwards to one that had some drawers neatly labeled. He pulled out a small plastic case and inside it were numerous small cartridges. "Isaac, yours is the easier one to explain." Alex said, pulling out two small cartridges. "You're from a game called Golden Sun. Two games on the gameboy advance and there is a third game staring your son Matthew on the DS. But I'm probably just talking gibberish to you right now."

Alex walked over to the TV, and turned it on, followed by inserting the Golden Sun cartridge into a gameboy player on a purple gamecube.

"In this world, there are things known as video games. On the screen there are characters that move from our inputs. And they go on grand adventures." Alex explained. "To us, you're just fictional characters."

He showed Isaac several battles in Golden Sun. After a few random encounters Alex turned off the Gamecube. "Now, Saki. Yours is a bit more complicated." He began to go through a bunch of much bigger gray cartridges piled on each other, only differentiated by labels that had been printed out and put on the top. He grabbed one followed by a black cartridge that said gameshark. He put the cartridge into the gameshark, and then put it in a different machine. "Your game originally wasn't released in North America. I've luckily got the original cart. I've also got the VC release, but this will do for a few a quick demonstration." On the screen, a highly polygonal version of Saki was running through a foggy landscape shooting at bugs. But once that level was over, Alex just turned off the N64. "The reason I know you, and know your capabilities is because I've played your games. As for what is Super Smash Brothers."

He went over to a white box and turned it on, followed by grabbing a white remote and pointing at a window on the TV screen. Alex just handed out gamecube controllers to Saki, Isaac, and San. He just let the opening cinematic play as he explained the controls.

"Basic controls, this is the control stick to move, A, the big green button for Smash attacks, they can be charged, and B the little red one for special attacks." Alex explained. "The c-stick, the yellow one, does Smash Attacks, however they can't be charged. X and Y, these two cause you to jump. And R or L can do shields. A with L or R is grabs."

"Okay..." Isaac said.

They got to the VS menu screen, and they stared a bit overwhelmed at all of the characters. Eventually they managed to fight a quick three stock match. Saki had picked Wolf, while Isaac had picked Link. Alex had picked Lucas, while San had chosen Bowser. Alex gave them a few minutes to figure out all of the moves of their characters. He couldn't help but laugh when Isaac pulled out a bomb from didn't throw it away fast enough.

In the end, Alex was the victor. San seemed to have adjusted the quickest to everything and was in second, followed by Saki in third, and Isaac in fourth.

"To me, the Super Smash Bros. is a crossover fighting game. Having a good portion of Nintendo's properties in one spot, fighting each other." Alex said. "But with all of their characters, there are some that aren't playable fighters, but appear during battle from items. These are Assist Trophies. You guys can play a few rounds with Z, there's some things that I need to check up on my computer."

Alex handed the controller to Zoroark, and made his way to a desk. He turned it on and just watched the match for several minutes. Then the match was over, Zoroark had come in first, San second, Saki third, and Isaac fourth. "Z, you should show them the assist trophies."

"Right." Zoroark replied.

He went out of those menus to training, however San was just staring at Alex, or rather past Alex and at the desktop background that was on the computer. "That's him!" San said.

Alex just looked at San confused. "Who's what?"

"On the monitor! That's the person who came for the attack…"

Alex just turned around to look at the desktop background, it was the picture of official artwork from Kid Icarus Uprising. Hades' giant hand, was reaching for Pit, who had his bow out and was ready to fire an arrow.

Saki and Isaac just rushed over to the monitor. They just stared at the purple man. "That's our enemy?"

"Yes." San said.

Saki just looked at Alex. "Tell us everything you know about him." He demanded.

Alex just laughed. "Hades, he's the main villain of Kid Icarus Uprising. He's lord of the underworld."

"And what is his battling capabilities?" Isaac asked.

"He's powerful. He destroyed the Three Sacred treasures, and it took the power of many gods to beat him." Alex said. "He was cut in half, and even that didn't stop him. Even having his head punched off was a minor inconvenience to him. And then, even when he was beaten, and was nothing more than a spirit, he still had the power to taunt, and say that he would return at least 25 years later…"

Saki and Isaac just nodded.

"We need to return to our ship for the time being, and log in all of this information." Saki said. "We'll also try and repair the communications and get in contact with everyone else. They need to know who was behind the attack."

Alex just nodded. "Very well then."

"We'll come back tomorrow." Saki said.

Alex just followed them upstairs, and watched as the two went off. Alex just let off a sigh. Those two were exhausting to be around, but now he knew it was only just the beginning.

"So, now that they're gone and we're down to three players, can Mario Kart night begin?" Zoroark asked.

"I don't see why not." Alex said.

The three went down into the basement and began to play some Mario Kart Double Dash. The first two races, San wasn't doing all that well, placing last and fourth respectfully. While Alex and Zoroark had placed first and second respectfully in both races.

The third race San had managed to get into third. The following races were rather intense. With whoever was in the lead at that exact moment was finding it rather difficult to keep it like that. The three of them remained silent. Only the odd curse of frustration came out of Alex or Zoroark's mouth, but after that and maybe a brief chuckle, they were back to their focused selves.

After 16 races, and having gone through all of the tracks, they ended the round. "Okay." Alex laughed. "That was good. You're a quick learner kid."

"Geeze, I couldn't keep up with you two." Zoroark sighed. "He's just like you, you know that?"

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

"Just, once you've got the hang of it, it's only extreme luck that can beat you." Zoroark sighed.

"Well, don't feel too threatened. He's not going to take your second place belt." Alex teased.

"Not to mention he got so into it, he was just like you when you play." Nick sighed. "Not making a sound."

"Oh come on, I make plenty of sounds." Alex said. But he did notice that San was completely focused on the game while they were playing, he wasn't exactly joining in on the comments. Which might of been a good thing considering Alex was pretty sure he let out some less than savory words about the blue shell a few times.

"So, Mario Kart Wii next?" Alex asked.

"Sure why not." Nick said.

They both glanced at San, and waited for a response. But he didn't exactly give one.

"San, would you like to play another game?" Alex asked.

"Yes." San said.

They played Mario Kart Wii, 2 hours later, Alex glanced over at the clock and noticed that it was 10 PM. They made their way upstairs, and Alex grabbed some old pajamas for San. "Here are some pajamas to change into." Alex said. He tossed them over, and San effortlessly caught them. Alex on the other hand just noticed the neatly folded uniform from earlier. "I'll wash this for you." He said.

"Thank you." San replied. "Listen, Alex, you're nice. Perhaps too nice. If you continue to shelter me, they will find you, and they will attack you. Since you're just a normal human, you won't stand a chance."

Alex just nodded. "Perhaps. But looks can be deceiving."

"Zoroark alone won't be able to protect you. And neither will the Smashers."

Alex just nodded. "I know." He said.

"Even still you will choose to protect me?"

Alex just nodded.

San just laughed. "I don't know if you're brave or stupid."

"Well, get changed, I'll go throw these in the washer." Alex sighed. He rushed down to the washing machine and just threw it in, making a mental note to switch it to the dryer before he went to bed.

He made his way upstairs to check on San. What he saw was a bit shocking. The kid hadn't closed the door while changing, currently he was just topless, however his body had several bandages wrapped around him. There were also several bruises and scars that were visible. Alex just looked at the kid in shock.

After getting over his shock, he walked over to San. The kid was unfazed by Alex's appearance. He didn't attempt to hide it. He just put on the shirt as though nothing had happened.

Alex didn't know what to do. For now he decided to not make a scene. He just directed the kid to the washroom so he could brush his teeth and do his business. Alex also made sure to turn on a night light so if San woke up in the middle of the night, having to go to the washroom, he could at least find it in the unfamiliar place.

When he was done, Alex just took him back to the spare bedroom, and tucked him in. His hand had brushed against San and there was a sudden spark.

* * *

"San is a weakling."

"He's the weakest one among us."

"This San is a failure."

"Toss him out."

"Leave him to die. He's worthless."

* * *

Alex just looked a bit confused, and just sat at the edge of the bed. "Did you have fun playing those games?" Alex asked.

"Fun?" San questioned. "I don't know."

"Well, get some rest, we'll probably be playing more tomorrow." Alex said.

He walked out of the room, and turned off the lights. He made his way downstairs and just looked at Zoroark who was curled up into a ball on the couch, while still disguised as a human.

"Hey, Z." Alex said just poking him.

"Quit that." Zoroark growled.

"Z…"

"Do you think it's a smart idea to have that kid in here?" Zoroark asked.

"No not really." Alex admitted. "We can't really just ignore everything else to watch over him, and if he's from the other world, there will be others looking for him. If they come here, and try to get him, I doubt I'd be able to protect him."

Zoroark just nodded.

"If Saki and Isaac are willing to look after him, and protect him, but I doubt that will be the case." Alex sighed.

"Well, you can ask them tomorrow." Zoroark said.

"What about tomorrow, Zoroark? Who's going to look after him tomorrow?"

"I can stay home from school and look after him." Zoroark said.

Alex just nodded. "Very well then."

The two of them just sat watching a bit of TV in silence before making their way upstairs. Alex did one runaround the house checking that all doors and windows were locked tight. As he was passing by the room San was in, he just paused. He looked into the room to make sure the kid was okay. San was tossing and turning in his sleep, it was clear that the child was having a nightmare. Alex was also thinking about those brief flashes that he saw.

"_That's never happened before, what the hell was that!?_" he thought to himself.

San suddenly stopped tossing and seemed to return to a normal sleep. Alex walked away, and made it to the washroom where he brushed his teeth and did his business. He eventually made it back to his room and then he just collapsed on the bed. He looked up at the ceiling. "Tomorrow." He muttered. "What does it bring?"

Zoroark curled up into a ball at Alex's feet. "There is only one way to find out, Master."

*Break*

Elsewhere, Saki and Isaac were doing what they could to repair the ship. "I still don't trust him..." Saki said.

"San, or Alex?" Isaac asked.

"San."

Isaac just nodded. "I left a Djinn there to watch over him incase he did anything suspicious. Now then, something else is going to emerge tomorrow."

Saki just nodded. "I'm going to try and pull an all nighter to get this fixed." He said. "Master Hand really needs to know this information."

Isaac just nodded in agreement. "Okay." He said. "Let me know if there is anything I can do."

Saki just shook his head. "Sorry, there isn't much."

"Listen, Saki, maybe you shouldn't pull an all nighter with something emerging tomorrow…" Isaac said rather concerned. "I mean we'll have to fight it off. If you're exhausted, that could impact our fight."

"I'll be fine." Saki said. "I can go 5 days without sleep before it impacts me."

Isaac just nodded, before returning to his room.

* * *

Elsewhere, Lucas was in the cave. He had remained hidden. Noah, had come back and smuggled another blanket out to him that he was currently using to cover himself. But even with the two blankets that he had, he was finding it a bit cold. "Did I do the right thing?" He muttered to himself, just drawing something on the ground with his finger. "Ness probably really hates me… the Smash Mansion is probably going crazy looking for me now…"

He just leaned back against the wall and fell asleep.

* * *

Elsewhere, in a castle in the underworld, Hades was sitting on a throne. His head was currently just resting on his hand, and he looked rather bored. "Sir," A person said, rushing into the room, and bowing in front of him. "The attack on the Smashers' base failed. They were still able to escape to the other world."

"Failed?" Hades laughed. "I don't see it like that. It's true that three Smashers were able to escape to the other world, but now the rest of them will be stuck in this world for the time being. They will be much more cautious and won't be able to just go into the next world without the fear of another attack."

"You all ready knew sir?"

"Of course I knew." He laughed. "I can see everything! Anyways, it didn't matter if we succeeded or failed, I got what I wanted either way… the other world will soon be in chaos, as monsters enter it. People will die, and I get souls. The only real question was if there would be Smashers to meet them. Ah well, it doesn't matter that much. The Smashers also have to find the one person that they're looking for."

"And do you know who that is sir?"

"No…" He began to grit his teeth. "That outsider, he must of known I was watching… Everything about that person that he showed Master Hand, was blocked. Even when Master Hand was showing those two Smashers it was blocked… Someone who can stop the Omniscience of a God…"

"Sir?"

"All I know is that outsider's name. Nugai. Just who the hell is he?!" Hades snapped. "I want to find him and crush him! And then crush his hope. Ah well, we will see how this world fares tomorrow."

* * *

_"No puppet strings can hold me down, so patiently I watch this town, abnormal soon will be the norm, enjoy the calm before the storm."_

_~Gravity Falls, S2E04: Sock Opera, Cipher page translated._

* * *

File 1

Do you want to save?

YES

Party: Alex, Zoroark, San, Saki, Isaac.

* * *

**I liked the little save screen idea from The Subspace Emissary's Worlds Conquest... So, I'm taking it.**

**The new main character along with his, situation has been introduced. The fate of Nugai, what has happened the past 6 years since the ending of Trapped in the Brawl, and other stuff...**

**There are a few parts that I feel are a bit rough, I may go back and edit it.**

**Well that's it for the introduction. Let's get serious now!**

**Notes:**

**Alex is the main OC. It's not my real name… although before I decided on it, I was using my real name as a placeholder… Also, as I was glancing through the section I saw that there was another story with an OC named Alex, so I was debating about changing it. However, I chose the name for a reason.**

**_"It's called T.I.N.S.G.O.H. Corp." Cody said._**** (TINSGOH, "There Is Nothing Suspicious Going On Here") I was thinking LMNORP Corp… just a generic placeholder, what it's supposed to be. But I saw TINSGOH elsewhere, (NaNoWriMo fourms, "Adopt an Organization")**

**With the nickname "Z" for Zoroark… In my mind I'm pronouncing it 'Zee', instead of the Canadian way of 'Zed'… **

**Hades… I was debating about keeping it a secret. On one hand… it would of allowed me to change it to someone else if I decided against it. On the other… The reveal I had planned was probably going to be really unceremonious, if I went with that…**

**So, back to the note at the top. About the Pokeball Pokemon and Assist Trophies. I have said previously that I saw the assist trophies as neglected characters. And I like to use them. The same goes for Pokeball Pokemon. In the early writing phases/planning I was hoping that Zoroark would be a playable character… But he's a Pokeball pokemon. Much like the name Alex, there is a reason why Zoroark is here. (Well, that and the whole illusion ability too, I thought that would be super helpful for some reason...)**


	3. Peaceful days died Let's Survive

**Shameless Word count padding AKA: Answering questions and stuff. If there is a question you have, please look through the start of the chapters to see if it had been answered all ready.**

**Statement****: ****"Happy go lucky world of Nintendo!" I just had to roll my eyes at that.**

**Response: Actually I didn't explain this in the notes, but, it was a complete the quote title. Where, the important/relevant part is the part that isn't quoted. The full quote being: "Something's gone wrong in the happy-go-lucky world of Nintendo" from the SSB64 North America commercial. The important part being the "Something's gone wrong."**

**Question: If nugai is in an asylum, how'd he go to master hand?**

**Answer: I actually originally had his spirit inhabiting the body of a wireframe, so that his physical body would still be there in the Insane Asylum, just in a meditative pose, or it would look like it was sleeping or something. If you've seen The Legend of Korra, it's just like when she goes into the spirit world by meditating, her physical body is left behind, but she keeps her appearance. But for some reason I changed it (I don't remember why...). In that instance, I'll say it was Nugai's spirit, the moments that required him to be physical, he used his powers over space to make that happen.**

**Statement: Your chapters are really long, which causes them to take a long time to write and publish online. I suggest you write shorter chapters that can be put up more frequently so readers don't forget what's happened so far.**

**Response: Trust me, I know my chapters are long. But making shorter chapters wouldn't help, I imagine I'm kind of infamous for my long breaks and taking forever with my stories *COUGH365&amp;SHADESOFSMASHCOUGH* my writing process involves more jumping around than Super Mario Bros. But, I'm going to be putting in a Story so far summary on certain chapters. **

* * *

Chapter 3: Peaceful days died. Let's survive!

At the Smash Mansion the Smashers and Wireframes were doing their best to rebuild it. Master Hand had also asked for help from Dr. Light, who let him use his robot masters, that had also managed to greatly help with speeding everything up.

Despite the attack, very few had actually managed to sustain injuries. The worst physical injury was probably a sprained ankle. A few Smashers had bruises, but beyond that they were okay. After the attack, Master Hand had informed everyone else that Saki and Isaac had departed on a secret mission, however he left the bit about Lucas running away a secret. He imagined all of the kid Smashers had figured it out by now, but adult Smashers probably hadn't caught on just yet.

Fox and Falco were currently working on repairing the communications systems.

Right now, Fox was sitting at a computer and was constantly typing away. Master Hand was at the other end of the room, waiting as Fox had all ready grown frustrated, and had snapped at the giant hand for looming over him, which was making him nervous and screwing up everything.

"Any luck yet?" Master Hand asked.

"Nothing has changed in the past 10 minutes since you last asked!" Fox said rather annoyed. He couldn't really blame Master Hand for being anxious though, all of the Smashers were worried about Saki and Isaac. They saw them being attacked before warping, but their communications were damaged during the attack. They couldn't even confirm if they were still alive.

The damaged communications had also delayed the other part of the mission and having the other Smashers go out to find the 12 humans that were chosen. As a result, their morale was at an all time low. Fox and several other Smashers had been working with very few breaks to try and get everything working, and as a result, they were growing more and more frustrated, and irritable.

"This is beginning to look hopeless." Fox said.

"Keep working." Master Hand sternly ordered. He didn't want to send out the other Smashers like this, but it was beginning to look like he had no choice. He couldn't help but think that the attack served a greater purpose, to help conceal something else and that the Smashers would be so distracted that they wouldn't notice until it was too late.

But what? He couldn't think of anything that their unknown enemies would do. He just sighed and began to float out of the room.

"I'm going to check up on everything else." Master Hand said.

Fox also breathed a sigh of relief, maybe now he could actually get some work done without screwing up every few seconds as the giant white glove just continuously breathed down the back of his neck, making him a nervous wreck.

As Master Hand floated through the ruins of the mansion, it only became clearer on how much the morale of the Smashers was affected. They all seemed drained and lifeless. They were all uncertain about everything.

The attack had left them confused. They didn't know who their opponents were; they had barely even had seen the monsters. The attack made next to no sense either. As soon as Saki and Isaac had left, the monsters disappeared. But it couldn't be something like preventing them from going to the other world and they realized after they had failed.

Master Hand wished he had some news to broadcast to everyone. A simple message from Saki or Isaac would suffice, a simple 'we're okay' would work. But he doubted that they would get that. There were the others though. He made his way into his office and closed and locked his door. He then floated above a circle that was in the middle of the room. Suddenly an aura burst off of him. And the area transformed.

Master Hand now floated above a marble tower. There were twelve small numbered platforms that were connected by a walkway to the tower. Each platform was over an abyss. And on each platform there was either a person occupying it, or it was empty. Each person occupying it was currently hidden; their bodies were made out of shadows to obscure any defining feature or anything else about them.

"Where are we?" One asked. Its voice was digitized to hide the tone.

Master Hand just floated there. "I am currently communicating to you in your dreams." Master Hand said. "There are 12 of you, but it seems that a few have not fallen asleep yet."

"Who are you?" One person asked.

"I am Master Hand, and I wish to avoid repeating myself. Can we wait until the others are here?"

There was currently 3 empty spaces. Within five minutes they were filled.

"About time you three got here." One said.

"This is just a dream, right?" another said.

"No, this is real." Master Hand said. "My name is Master Hand,"

"AHHHHHHHHH!" One person screamed. "Your the final boss of Super Smash Bros! I'm dreaming that I'm in the game right?"

"No." Master Hand said. "This is real, I am communicating to you telepathically, and what I'm about to explain is of great importance, so I suggest listening very carefully. 2 days ago I sent out an update to only your 12 3DS's, if you had access to multiple 3DS's either through a sibling, or owning multiple consoles for whatever reason, you may have questioned why only one unit had received this mysterious update. I assure you, only you 12 are the only people on the planet to receive this update."

"And what was this update?" Another asked.

"You are the last hopes for both of our worlds." Master Hand said. "Our worlds are parallel, never actually meeting except through extremely rare circumstances. In theory, our worlds were never supposed to meet again, however now there is a crisis where the worlds will come together and fuse with possibly destructive results."

"And why us?" Another asked.

"Because you are 12 humans that have the rare ability to be able to travel through the two worlds at will, if the gateway hadn't been sealed previously."

"Wait, so basically we could travel into a TV world like in Persona 4?" One said.

"Yes, I guess that's an extreme oversimplification of it." Master Hand said.

"Interesting." Another said.

"Do you all understand this?" Master Hand said.

"Yes." They all replied.

"We currently do not know who our enemies are who are forcing the worlds to fuse, and we can imagine that there will be monsters who will cross over into your world. The job I have for you is to team up with a group of two Smashers to fight any of these monsters and send them back into our world. To aid you in your quest I have given your 3DS several powers that have now been unlocked. I suggest reading though the instructions to fully understand how to wield them." Master Hand said.

They all nodded, and Master Hand continued his explanation. "However, you must guard your 3DS with your life, if it was to be broken, your memories will be erased, and you would be returned back to your normal life beforehand."

They all just nodded, accepting Master Hand's warning.

"That is all for right now, when I call upon you again, the Smashers will have hopefully crossed over into your world."

Master Hand reemerged in his office. He let off a heavy sigh and looked around. He didn't know what else to do. Everything seemed so bleak. "Tomorrow is another day," he eventually said deciding to go to sleep

* * *

Elsewhere, others were meeting up. "Mugen, San has escaped." A person dressed as a scientist said. "You must hunt him down."

"Yes sir!" The other said.

"Use whatever means necessary to kill him."

"Yes sir!" Mugen replied, emotionlessly.

* * *

The school day was boring, and Alex was glad that it was over. Tei/Cody/whatever he was supposed to go by was practically his only interaction with anyone else, and that was painfully annoying.

"I see your brother isn't here today." Cody said. "Did you heed my advice?"

"He's just sick today." Alex replied.

"Is that so?" Cody laughed, it was quite clear to Alex that Cody didn't believe a single word that he just said. He was debating about telling him about Saki and Isaac, but wondered if that would further complicate things. Just as they had discussed the previous night, Zoroark stayed at the house to watch over San. He wouldn't be able to do it every single day, but they felt that at least for the first week it was doable, then as long as they found him trustworthy, he could be left by himself. Or if Saki and Isaac actually began to look after him.

"Listen, can we talk somewhere privately?" Alex asked.

Cody just shrugged, and the two of them walked out of the cafeteria, and made their way outside. They got to the far side of the field. "Tell me are there any snipers currently aiming at me?" Alex wondered.

"No." Cody replied, doing his best to hide back a laugh. "They still think I'm only investigating you."

Alex just glanced at him. "Whose side are you on?" He asked.

"Listen, I'm just trying not to jump the gun here." Cody said. "I think you would make a powerful ally. We're supposed to register anyone who has the potential to cross over. It's been so long since we've had to track anyone down."

Alex just glared at him. "Why's that?"

"It's because well, stuff happened and the gateways between worlds were closed down for the longest time. That, and we can't actually act without any proof of people being able to crossover..." He sighed. "This may be a bit too complicated for you to understand but..."

Alex just looked rather surprised at Cody. "Wait, won't you get in trouble if you explain everything?!"

"Not really." Cody sighed. "The thing is, there is some magic, or something. Those who don't have the ability to crossover into the other world, forget about it within 24 hours. Anything that crosses over here, and anyone who sees it, and any damage that will be done will be forgotten within 24 hours. For some reason, the reverse is also true, if we were to eliminate someone who could cross over, everyone would forget about them within 24 hours. If you aren't actually someone who can cross over, you will forget within 24 hours if I say anything about the other world."

Alex just nodded. "Okay then."

"Or that contact has been made with someone, such as the Zoroark." Cody finished. "But, right now, I'm trying to do my best to protect you."

"And why's that?" Alex wondered.,

Cody just gritted his teeth. He looked around nervously and eventually said. "Once again, I think you would make a powerful ally. If your Zoroark could be used with us, we could quickly contain fights of any monsters in illusions, or lead anything that crosses over away to a safe area where nothing will be severely damaged. We can continue to keep the masses ignorant. That's why I see you and Zoroark as a valuable asset. And, as someone who can crossover, and has many times in the past, I know what is waiting for us on the other side..."

Alex could see that Cody was speaking truthfully. But his aura was still letting off a scared state. He looked around, trying to see if anyone else was watching, and then his hand went into his pocket.

The next thing Alex knew was that his ears suddenly popped. It suddenly was much quieter. He could no longer hear the wind, or any birds, or any passing by cars. It was just silent until Cody spoke up once again. "You can't trust the people who sent me, but you can trust me." He said.

Alex didn't know how to take this. Was this person just an experienced liar? He wished that he had observed his aura more carefully prior to this moment so he knew for sure.

"I've seen what they plan to do, and I'm working against it." Cody continued. "I want you to be with me in this rebellion."

All sound suddenly returned, and Cody just began to walk away. "I'll see you in class." He said.

The rest of the day was boring and uneventful. Occasionally during class, Alex would pull out his cell phone and text Zoroark, Zoroark would gladly let him know if anything interesting was going on there, which wasn't much. They were going through the various games in the basement, playing them.

"We're erasing everything and starting over." Zoroark had teased. At least, Alex hoped it was a tease, if his game's save files were erased, there would be hell to pay, and Zoroark knew that.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Much to his surprise, Cody didn't attempt to follow him home. But, there were other things that were bothering him, right now, a storm was coming. The skies were gray, and the air had that feeling just before a storm would come. There was no wind, at least not yet, it was also eerily quiet. Yes, the first big storm of the season would be here soon, washing away any snow that remained, which at this point just amounted to what was left of giant piles in mall parking lots.

He made his way up his driveway, and to the front door. As he stepped in to the house he was surprised to see Zoroark was waiting for him rather eagerly. "Whats wrong?" Alex asked.

"Everything." Zoroark said. "Something strange is in the air today."

Alex just glanced around. "Really?" He wondered.

"Yes." Zoroark replied. "I don't like this scent."

"Smoke, or gas?" Alex wondered.

"Neither." Zoroark replied.

Alex just stopped to think about it for several seconds. "What does it smell like?"

"I don't know." Zoroark replied. "But it's nostalgic"

Alex just nodded. "Nostalgic?"

"Maybe a bit of countryside air..." Zoroark said. "Yeah, that's it... foreign air..."

"Not to mention a storms coming." Alex said.

Zoroark just shuddered afraid. He nodded his head several times. "I've heard the thunder in the distance." He said. "It's coming much closer."

Alex just sighed. "Well, I'm going to find Saki and Isaac."

"We're here." A voice said, walking up the driveway. They walked into the house as rain began to fall. Soon, loud deafening claps of thunder occurred. Zoroark had run down into the basement, as he was afraid of the loud sounds. Much to his surprise, San followed, also shaking in fear.

Saki, Isaac, and Alex just enjoyed some hot coffee and tea, while waiting for the storm to pass. The power went out, and they just sat there in darkness. "I'd hate to be out in this weather." Alex sighed.

* * *

Inside the cave, Lucas was terrified. The loud claps of thunder, the bolts of lightning. After every strike, they were followed by a cry from the young psychic. "Why did I leave..." Lucas muttered.

Noah hadn't come yet. He was figuring that the kid wouldn't make it out of the house today. He'd have to be crazy to come out in this storm.

"Hey!" A voice said. Lucas looked up. Much to his surprise Noah was standing there with an umbrella. "Listen, you can come to my house for a while." Noah said. "My father isn't home right now and won't be back until later, so... it should at least be drier than this..."

Lucas just nodded a few times.

"You can also take a shower too..." Noah said.

Lucas just suddenly froze. "Do I stink?" Lucas asked.

"I didn't mean it like that, but you must be rather dirty and..."

"Ah, I see…" Lucas said.

The two just began to walk, the violent winds however had quickly torn apart the umbrella. "Let's make a run for it." Noah said. Lucas just nodded, and the two began to run, eventually getting to Noah's house.

The two just began to gasp for air, and then they began to laugh. "We made it." Noah said, unlocking the front door. "Well, welcome to my home."

* * *

In Saki's hands was a device. To Alex it looked almost like a smart phone. From the occasional glance he got from Saki moving the device around, he was able to make out a map. "Well, I've got some bad news." Saki sighed. "Something is emerging into this world."

"Something in this weather?" Alex said rather annoyed.

Suddenly on Saki's screen appeared a countdown timer starting at 10 minutes. "I'm afraid so." Saki said. "And in 10 minutes, it will be fully in this world."

"Where is it?" Alex asked.

"Nearby..." Saki replied. He tossed the device to Alex and he just looked at it. The map was of the nearby area.

"This is by the river, right by that forest that you're lodging in."

"Okay, Isaac, let's go!" Saki said.

"Wait, you're really going?!" Alex said confused.

"We don't have a choice." Isaac replied. "Whatever appeared, we have to return it back to our world."

"But won't you get sick?!" Alex said.

"I'll be fine." Isaac replied. "I've got a Mercury Djinn that will keep the water away from me. And Saki is too stupid to catch a cold."

"What was that!?" Saki snapped.

Alex just looked at Isaac a bit confused.

"Saki won't get a cold no matter what. His biology is too different from normal humans such as yourselves." Isaac replied. "His immune system is practically unbeatable."

Alex just nervously laughed. "I wished I knew what that felt like."

"Anyways, you can stay here, we're going to go fight that monster." Saki said.

The two ran out of the house brandishing their weapons. Alex only hoped that no one saw them. Odds were that no one would be looking out the windows during this storm. And even if they were, the rain was coming down, and was far too heavy to see more than 5 meters in front of you. They wouldn't be recognized, and if anyone did see them, they'd just think that they were crazy, or something. He glanced at the device in his hand, and then at the door as they had gone out.

"Crap. You guys forgot this!" Alex shouted. But they were all ready gone. He just rushed down to the basement where Zoroark was currently under a bunch of blankets and pillows.

"Master?" Zoroark asked.

"Sorry Z, but a monster is emerging, and Saki and Isaac just ran out. I think we should follow them."

"It's still raining and there is thunder and lightning..." Zoroark protested.

"I know, I'm sorry..."

"You'll owe me something big." Zoroark growled getting up. "And what about San."

The boy was also cowering underneath some blankets. "I think we don't have to worry about him running away during this weather." Alex replied.

They rushed out of the house. The streets were flooded with water. The two just ran towards the destination. A clap of thunder happened, but they kept on going. Zoroark had cut off some of his hair, and chewed it, to make a makeshift earplugs for himself. They had eventually caught up with Saki and Isaac at a small fenced off steep hill, although it was probably more accurate to call it a cliff, that was over looking the river. "What are you doing?!" Saki shouted back.

"Making sure you guys are okay." Alex replied.

"You know this is going to be dangerous." Isaac said.

"Don't worry I'll stay a safe distance away." Alex said. The two of them nodded.

"Are there any other ways down?"

"At least a three minute run from here." Alex said. However he held up the machine. "But we don't exactly have that time." They now had less than a minute and a half before the monster emerged.

"That will take too long!" Saki said, jumping over the fence. Isaac followed. They began to rush down the hill, not once losing their balance. Alex just watched in shock. A smile began to cross his face, his heart began to pound. These guys were the real deal.

"Zoroark, follow them, I'll catch up!" Alex said, deciding to take the long way.

Zoroark just nodded and also jumped the fence. Alex however ran to get to the part of the trail that would allow him to go down to the river. There was a bit of relief when he got under the cover of the trees.

Saki and Isaac had stopped at the bottom. Zoroark soon caught up. "My master is taking the long way." He said.

Both of them just nodded. "Well, I guess he is only a normal human after all." Saki said. "He doesn't have any training like us."

"Now we just need to find out where this monster is emerging." Isaac said.

Saki began to feel for the device, however, he quickly realized that he had never gotten it back from Alex. He just looked horrified. "Oh no."

"You didn't." Isaac said rather annoyed.

"It looks like I did." Saki replied.

"Crap."

Thankfully, whatever had emerged decided to be rather loud, as there was a sudden roar. They suddenly felt the ground shake, and then saw a wave in the river go downstream, followed by another ferocious roar. They quickly followed the bank until they saw what was emerging. A rather large green dragon, unicorn fusion was there.

"What is that!?" Zoroark asked.

"A monster from our world that just crossed over." Saki said.

"It's called Aquamentus!" Alex shouted, having caught up. They looked at him rather shocked.

"Aquamentus." Saki said.

Alex just tossed the device back to Saki who looked over it. It now currently had a page of information on Aquamentus. "Despite it's size, all the data available just says that it's rather weak." Saki laughed. "Geeze, are our enemies just taunting us?"

"Maybe they didn't expect any resistance on this side..." Isaac replied.

Saki just raised up his cannon sword and began to fire in the face of Aquamentus. Aquamentus however just fired three fireballs towards them. They landed on the shore, and quickly were extinguished from the rain.

Isaac drew his sword and rushed for the dragon. With a single strike Aquamentus went down and began to cry out in pain. "Well, that was pathetically easy." Alex muttered. "Are all of the enemies from your world this weak?"

Isaac just sheathed his sword. He glanced back at Aquamentus. Something was way too weird about it just going down in one hit. "No, this one should of been at least a bit stronger than that..."

Saki pulled out the device to scan Aquamentus. "This is way to weird. It's saying that Aquamentus is practically dead."

Alex was just trying to stay calm. "It's aura, I sensed it two days ago... What if it was trying to emerge since then."

"He may be onto something." Isaac said. "While we were protected from the gateway between the two worlds by the ship, Aquamentus wasn't and suffered a great deal of damage. And if he's been trying to emerge for the past two days... the seal is still partly in place, but it's a lot weaker than it used to be, still Aquamentus had to make his own hole to escape out..."

"I think this wasn't the first spot that he tried to escape out either." Alex said. "The train tracks, that were uprooted... Did it try there?"

"I see." Saki said. "So, it's weakened because the barrier between the worlds is still partly up. Well, I'm a little disappointed, but let's just take this lucky break." He aimed his cannon sword right at Aquamentus and fired. The energy bullet hit the dragon square on the nose. It let out a cry of pain. "Geeze, I'm so mad that my clothes got wet now." Saki said. "Talk about a waste of time."

Suddenly behind Aquamentus appeared a portal. From it a dark energy that began to shock it, causing it to cry out in pain. Aquamentus also began to get more energized, as it stood up on it's feet, and began to flap it's wings to fly. "Aquamentus, I order you to destroy those Smashers!" A voice shouted from the portal.

Aquamentus' eyes now glowed with a red color. It stared at the four people in front of it. "This isn't good." Saki muttered. He began to fire shots with his Cannon Sword, however they quickly became ineffective.

Isaac quickly grabbed his sword and ran towards Aquamentus. This time also slashing it, however, his sword didn't cut the beast. The scales just protected it now. "What!?" Isaac said shocked. He was suddenly knocked back by a strong gust of wind and into the water.

It's eyes focused on Zoroark and Alex. "Get out of here!" Saki shouted. "This monster will tear you apart!"

Aquamentus began to fire several fireballs towards Zoroark and Alex. The two of them however dodged the attacks. Alex had picked up a stone off of the ground and quickly threw it at the beast. It just bounced off of it's head, being ineffective. Isaac tried to jump up, however he was suddenly pulled back down to the ground. The scarf around his neck, was now stuck under water, it had been caught by a rock. He just looked up at the dragon frustrated.

The dragon just spun around, and hit Isaac sending him flying with his tail. Saki quickly rushed for Aquamentus, and jumped bringing his cannon sword down upon the beast's head. However it did next to no actual damage.

"That surge of energy..." He muttered. Aquamentus began to take flight. Saki realized how dangerous this was and quickly jumped up to it's wings slashing them to cause Aquamentus to fall down onto the ground. The ground shook and it let out a cry of pain. "Sorry, it's bad enough you managed to come into this world, but I'm making sure you're staying here!"

Isaac rushed for Aquamentus, now that his scarf was no longer caught under rocks, he was free to attack. He quickly jumped up to strike him, but once again his sword did nothing. Isaac just landed on the ground and looked rather frustrated. "Looks like I'm going to have to use Psynergy." He muttered.

He placed his hand on the ground and suddenly a spire shot up. It hit Aquamentus, but immediately broke upon contact with Aquamentus' hard scales. "Crap, that didn't even work!?" Isaac muttered. He began to walk forwards however suddenly fell down. Isaac's eyes flared open in pain, and he let out a cry.

Alex quickly rushed over to him. "What's wrong?!"

"All these rocks... I must of twisted my ankle." Isaac said. He looked at Alex and suddenly realized that he was within range of Aquamentus. "What are you doing here, get back!"

Alex just went under Isaac's arm and helped support him up. "I'm getting you out of here."

Isaac cringed. "You shouldn't put yourself in danger." Isaac said. "I'll be fine. You on the other hand could be killed."

"That's just a risk I'm going to have to take to help you." Alex replied.

They began to walk away. However Aquamentus breathed a fireball towards them. Isaac just raised his hand and from his hand a giant golden hand appeared to protect them. The two just canceled each other out.

They got into the cover of the forest. Isaac just leaned against a tree. "Zoroark is currently maintaining an illusion, to keep the battle hidden." Alex explained. "Just as long as no trees catch on fire, we should be safe. Now, sit back, and I hope you don't mind me taking this."

Isaac's eyes widened in realization that while Alex was helping him, in the process he had stolen his sword. He just took the sheath and tied it to his belt. "You idiot!" Isaac shouted, grabbing Alex's ankle in a desperate attempt to try and stop him. "We can't do anything, what does a normal human such as yourself hope to accomplish?"

Alex just glanced at Isaac and effortlessly broke his grip on his ankle. "Isaac, you made one mistake. Assuming that I was a normal human. There is a reason why I was chosen as Nugai's Successor."

"What?!" Isaac said rather pained. "You... were acting like you didn't know."

"I didn't know whether or not to trust you just yet." Alex replied. "Nugai did choose me for a reason. I can probably fight on the same ground, as you two."

And with that Alex ran off. Isaac could only watch. He held his Smash Pendant and clenched it tightly. "Are we condemning him to his death, or are we opening up a new future?" He muttered.

Saki was flicked by Aquamentus' tail and sent skidding across the ground, hitting several jagged rocks and eventually slamming into a tree. He cried out in pain. "Crap!" He muttered, struggling to get back up. "I may have to go all out..."

Alex just stood in front of Saki. "Can you stay back here and support me?" He asked.

"What!?" Saki said rather surprised. "Just because you have a sword now doesn't mean you can fight that thing! Have you ever wielded a sword before?"

Alex just closed his eyes. "No, not a real one. Although I have played video games, and swung sticks around pretending that they were swords."

This comment annoyed Saki to no end. "That is absolutely nothing like using a real sword! You don't even know the weight of a sword!"

Alex just nodded. "This may be true." He said. "But I think I can beat it. No, I know I can beat it."

Saki reached out to grab Alex to stop him, however, he missed. Alex just turned around and began to walk towards Aquamentus. He reached the water and continued walking forwards. Much to Saki's amazement, he didn't stop, or sink. Alex was walking on water.

At that moment, Saki could only look at him in shock. The person in front of him, he knew he wasn't a normal human. Hell, he wasn't even sure if the person in front of him was a human. It terrified him perhaps more than any other thoughts. Alex drew the sword and just continued walking forwards.

"Aquamentus," Alex said. "Its time to end this!"

The dragon just looked down at the person, perhaps it was questioning why a mere human thought it was even capable of opposing it. Aquamentus just let out a roar, in an attempt to scare him, but Alex didn't even flinch. The two just continued to stare at each other. Neither wanting to admit defeat, even in a simple staring contest.

Alex readied his sword. In his mind he was remembering everything he could about Aquamentus. The first boss of The Legend of Zelda, and The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons. Considered to actually be the weakest boss in the entire Zelda franchise.

Alex adjusted his grip on the sword, and then jumped up to attack Aquamentus. Aquamentus was ready for the attack and countered by breathing a giant single fireball. Alex however grabbed the sheath of the sword, and crossed the two like an X to create a barrier as he went right through the fireball and up to Aquamentus' head.

"Aquamentus, your weakness is your horn!" Alex shouted swinging the sword at the horn, however, the sword just bounced off the horn like many of Saki and Isaac's attacks on it's scales. Alex began to fall, his eyes flared up in anger realizing that his attack was just as ineffective as the others.

Aquamentus also attacked Alex now that he was falling to the ground and next to defenseless. It fired another fireball towards him, however a barrier of aura appeared around Alex dispelling the fireball.

"Humans here can use Aura?" Saki said shocked. "What's going on?!"

"This is my master's power." Zoroark replied.

Alex landed on the water, and just looked up at Aquamentus a bit frustrated. He suddenly dashed to Aquamentus' tail. It flicked it towards Alex however he just jumped on top of it and began to run up the back of the dragon, increasing his speed and readying his sword once again. He swung the sword at the horn, this time with all of his strength while also reinforcing his arms with Aura. He jumped off Aquamentus and looked back to see not even a scratch had been done on the horn.

The sword in his hands on the other hand now had a giant crack through it. Alex just looked rather frustrated. Aquamentus began to breath another fireball at him, however Saki shot at it several times with his cannon sword. A few shots hitting it in the eyes, and causing it to stop it's attack to cry out in pain.

Alex landed on the ground and looked at the sword. He just cringed. He imagined that he only had 1 more attack before the sword would reach it's limit and would completely shatter. Deep in his his head he was muttering something to himself. "_Wasn't breakable weapons Fire Emblem, not Golden Sun..._"

He looked up at Aquamentus, it just appeared that all he had done was succeeding in pissing it off.

Aquamentus began to rapidly fire fireballs at Alex. He just dodged in between the attacks. It was quite easy to tell where each attack was going to land, and since they were still on the water, there was no worry about the trees catching fire, not to mention there was still the heavy downpour of rain. Alex made sure to only barely miss a few of the fireballs, and put the sword in them, in some hope that he could quickly reforge it to get rid of some the cracks, and make it solid again, however that didn't actually seem to work very well.

"So much for that improvised plan." Alex muttered. He stretched out his arm, and aura began to cover the sword. "Here's hoping plan b works." his plan was to use aura to strengthen his sword, and to hopefully cut. He didn't know if it would work, but at this point in time, it was the only thing that he could do, and he only had one shot, so he might as well go for that crazy idea.

He quickly began to run away from Aquamentus, and then did a 180 turn, and run back towards him. Aquamentus began to fire fireballs at him, however he swiftly dodged each and everyone, and then Alex jumped up into the air and rushed towards Aquamentus' horn.

He swung the sword and then landed on the ground. The sword had completely shattered from the impact, so now all he was holding was a broken hilt. He just looked at the broken weapon in shock. He then glanced up at Aquamentus. "It's over." Alex said discarding the hilt. Aquamentus' horn suddenly fell down into the water, and a surge of dark energy went through it's body. It let out a cry of pain, before erupting into flames and dying. Soon, not even it's body remained. Alex just approached the horn and dragged it to shore. Saki was actually still staring in shock at what Alex had just done. "Who the hell are you?" He asked.

Alex glanced at Saki a bit confused. "No one special, really!" Alex said.

"No one special? You say that after you just did that, and you want me to believe you?"

"Yes." Alex said. "I learned how to control aura from Nugai. I am his successor after all."

Suddenly Alex fell forwards exhausted. Zoroark quickly rushed to in front of his Master and caught him. "Are you all right Master?" Zoroark asked.

"Yeah, I'm just tired. I've never used that much aura before." Alex laughed.

Isaac had made his way over and looked at the remains of his sword. "Well, there are plenty where that one came from." He sighed, rather grateful that it was just an old plain sword and not one of his several magical swords that Alex just totaled.

"Well, we at least managed to escape with our lives." Saki said.

"Still, what powered up that monster?" Isaac wondered.

"Can we talk about this back at my house?" Alex asked. It was getting much harder for him to keep his eyes open. Even when perfecting that walking on water technique he had never used that much aura.

"Agreed." Saki said. "There is no telling how much attention that fight garnered."

* * *

Lucas stepped out of the shower, his blonde hair was currently draped over his eyes, he took a nearby towel and just began to dry his hair.

The water was so nice. After how many days outside, in rather cold weather, it was nice having actual warmth on his body again.

Noah had left some spare clothes for Lucas, and was currently washing Lucas' dirty clothes. It was a nice gesture, but kind of pointless, when he'd be stepping outside and the now dry, clean clothes would be drenched once again.

He glanced at himself in the mirror. His work as a Smasher had actually given him a lot more muscle build than someone his age would have.

Noah suddenly walked in. He just stared for a few seconds, and just shouted out in shock. "I'm sorry!" He said. "I forgot I had someone here and..."

"Don't worry about it." Lucas said. Quickly getting changed. As a Smasher, he had gotten used to changing in front of the other kid Smashers, not to mention where he came from, the Nowhere Islands, there were always the public mixed bathing hot springs, and people really weren't embarrassed about their bodies. He got into the shirt and just looked at himself once again in the mirror. He tried to style his hair, but without gel, it just went down once again.

"I want to show you some more games." Noah said. "Come on!" Lucas was suddenly dragged up into Alex's room. It was messy. Clothes were thrown across the floor with no actual regard that someone else could be here. Noah suddenly realized how much of a mess the place was and acted quickly, grabbing the clothes and quickly stuffing it into an already overflowing laundry hamper. "Sorry." He quickly apologized.

"I'm used to it." Lucas laughed, Toon Link was actually quite messy, Red's stuff was always everywhere, yet he could always find it easily, and when tired, Ness really didn't care where anything was either.

Noah just turned on a TV, and then a black box. "This is my Xbox 360." Noah said. He just smiled and began to laugh. "Here, you've got to see this, this is Minecraft! You've got to have heard about this, right?" Lucas just looked at the screen. Noah had all ready loaded up a game, and he was currently in a house. Everything was just extremely blocky. "It's just the coolest thing ever!" Noah said, not waiting for an answer from Lucas. "You get to do nearly anything you want, you get to build, and…"

Lucas just occasionally nodded in response. He was paying attention. Between this and a Link Between Worlds yesterday, he was beginning to grow curious. The games looked so different… and then Lucas began to wonder, what did his world look like from his side. What did Ness', and Red's look like?

"Here's this cave that I've been mining in." Noah said.

* * *

They had made their way back to Alex's house. When they got there, they all let off a heavy sigh. They were all exhausted; their clothes were all drenched in water. Alex just quickly handed out new clothing to each of them, and they changed into it. He also put on a kettle and got several mugs so that they could all have a warm drink to warm themselves up.

"Okay..." Saki said as they had all regrouped down around the dinning room table. "You have a lot of explaining to do. Start by explaining the walking on water."

Alex just nervously laughed. "Um well, the water was really shallow in a few spots with some giant rocks..."

"You're lying." Saki said.

Alex just raised his hand up. A ball of aura appeared. "I can control aura." Alex replied. "Have you ever seen the show Naruto?"

The two of them just stared blankly at him. "No." They both said.

"Okay, it's about ninjas, and one of the first major skills that they learn is the ability to control their chakra, their energy, to walk up trees, or walk on water." Alex said. "It was basically just using aura to do the same thing."

"How did you learn how to control Aura?" Saki asked.

"Nugai taught me." Alex replied. "Before he was locked up." From the kitchen the kettle began to whistle. Alex just got up. "Tea, coffee, hot chocolate?"

"Coffee's fine." Saki said.

"Tea." Isaac added on.

Alex just nodded and made his into the kitchen.

Saki just turned to Isaac. "There was something strange about him too." Saki said. "As soon as he started fighting it was like he was a completely different person."

"That's because Master refuses to lose." Zoroark said.

"No." Saki said. "I've seen people like that fight and he let off a completely different aura. Those who struggle and refuse to give up until their body's give out have a very different fighting presence. Watching him fight gave me goosebumps, and stirred several emotions in me. If I had to say it, it was almost like he was born to fight and battle."

Isaac just looked down at the table. "So, there are monsters like that in this world too. Nugai definitely chose someone interesting to be his successor."

Saki just nodded in agreement.

Zoroark however was sitting at the table rather confused. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you mean by that. Could you explain it?"

"Explain what?" Saki wondered.

"You said it was almost like he was born to fight." Zoroark said.

"Well, in our world, there are people like for example... Hmm... who within the Smashers would be a good example... Ah yeah, Red the Pokmeon Trainer, or Lucas." Saki said. "Before you get to know them, they're shy, quiet, kind of dorky, and just give that impression of they would never be good in a fight, even when you know them, they're just two kids having fun but still quiet, shy and kind of dorky. But when that fight, they change. They are suddenly different. I wouldn't say ruthless, but to a casual observer watching them fighting you'd be hard pressed to believe that they were the same person. That quiet person who just kept to themselves, just suddenly became alive. That a fire was lit deep within them, and they awoke to their passion."

Zoroark just nodded. "I think I understand now." He said.

"Although, I guess it's not just limited to fighting." Saki said. "Artists, musicians, cooking, anything really... you can see someone change when they find their passion. Well, I'm going to try and contact Master Hand now." Saki reached down into his pocket and pulled out the device. He then just stood there, looking horrified. "No way!" He said.

Isaac just looked at it and cringed. "Crap." He said.

"What's the matter?" Alex wondered, walking into the room with the tray of drinks.

"Our communicator. It was damaged in the fight with Aquamentus." Saki said. "It must of been when I was hit, and slid across those rocks and smashed into the tree."

"Without this we can't contact the other Smashers." Isaac replied.

"Can it be fixed?" Alex wondered.

"I might be able to do something." Saki said. "It won't be a lot, but it will be something. If I could at least get it to display the signal so that they know we are still alive then maybe... Once this storm let's up, I'm going to go back to the ship and see if there are spare parts there that I can borrow."

Isaac just nodded. Time passed, Alex went downstairs to play video games, while Saki and Isaac just stayed up in the dinning room. Eventually Alex came back upstairs, in tow was San.

Alex just let off a yawn. "Sorry, I'm going to bed." He said.

"Okay, see ya." Saki laughed.

"If you're still going out, just make sure you lock the door behind you."

"Yeah, of course." Saki said.

Alex went upstairs, and Saki turned to Isaac. "The storm doesn't feel like it's going to let up any time soon." He sighed. "I'm just going to go to the ship."

Isaac nodded. "I may join you later." He said.

With that Saki departed, it was now only Zoroark and Isaac sitting at the table. Their drinks had been finished long ago. Yet, Isaac felt like Zoroark was trying to say something. After several minutes of silence, he just turned to the pokemon. "Is there something on your mind?" Isaac asked.

"Yes." Zoroark replied. "It's about what Saki said..."

"The passion for fighting?"

"Yes. Is master's passion really fighting?" Zoroark questioned. "I've always known him as a kind person. I always thought he disliked violence. And now, it feels like I'm beginning to not know who he really is. So, is master's passion for fighting?"

"I don't think it's for fighting, per se." Isaac said. "Saki is always thinking about fighting, so I think he failed to properly explain something, or he didn't see it himself since he only knows how to fight for the sake of fighting. But, I wouldn't say that Lucas' passion is fighting like Saki said it was. If anything, I'd say Lucas' passion is for defending. Protecting those he cares about. I think Alex's passion is the same. He wants to protect those he cares about."

Zoroark just smiled. "I see. Thank you." He said standing up. "I'm going to bed now..."

* * *

It was now dark, and the rain hadn't let up. Noah just looked outside. He didn't want to send Lucas back out, since well it was still raining, and the cave must have been a mess by now. He just let off a sigh. "Lucas, you can stay here tonight if you want." He said.

"What about your family?" Lucas asked.

Noah just glanced around. "My dad isn't back yet, he's probably out at a bar somewhere. If he comes home, I'll just say that you were a friend from school, and that we had to do a project, and due to the weather you couldn't get back to your house."

Lucas just nodded a few times.

"You can stay in my bed, I'll sleep on the floor." Noah said.

"Okay." Lucas said.

Noah had lent Lucas some pajama pants and an old t-shirt that he had, soon the two were asleep.

Throughout the night, Lucas was woken up by Noah tossing and turning. The kid was having a nightmare. Lucas just closed his eyes, and began to use his psychic abilities to give him a more peaceful dream.

* * *

The next morning, Alex had a bit of trouble getting out of bed. He heard the alarm ringing, it was just he didn't want to turn it off. He was too exhausted to do that. And then if he did turn it off, after that he would have to go to school... the day would begin once again.

"It's Thursday..." He muttered to himself, forcing himself up. "Almost the weekend..." He looked around, but it was actually hard to focus. The room felt like it was spinning. He turned off the alarm and stepped onto the cold floor.

He stumbled forwards a few times, and he quickly caught himself, using a wall to support himself. He took a few more steps, but it became clear that, he wasn't feeling all that well.

"_Was it all the aura that I used up yesterday?_" He thought. He made his way to the washroom. Having a hot shower, making his way down to the kitchen and eating breakfast, nothing was helping him from not being dizzy. He was hardly able to keep his ballance.

He just collapsed in the chair at the table. Zoroark came down the stairs a few minutes later, and San had followed. "Master." Zoroark said. "Is everything okay?"

"I think so." Alex said. "Are you staying here again today Z?"

"Yes of course." Zoroark replied.

Alex just stood up and began to walk away. "I'm taking the bus today." Alex said. "Driving is probably a bad idea..."

Zoroark was a bit confused and afraid. He saw Alex begn to fall. He rushed to his side to quickly catch him. "Master, you're not all right..." Zoroark said.

"I'll be fine. I must of just slept baddy, or it was the use of aura, or it was something else like the weather." Alex weakly laughed. "Don't worry. I'll take the bus, I'll be fine."

* * *

Lucas was suddenly awoken by an alarm. He looked around confused, and then out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow move. Suddenly the alarm stopped, and a light came on in the room.

"Morning." Noah said.

Lucas just looked at Noah. "Morning."

He glanced out at the window. For the most part the heavy rain had stopped. There was still a light drizzle.

The two of them got up. Noah rushed out of the room for a few minutes and then came back in with the clothes that were in the drier. "Here." He said. "Also, it seems like my dad didn't come home last night! So, I guess I don't have to explain you to him."

Lucas just took the clothes. "Thanks for everything then." Lucas said.

"Hey, you still need to eat breakfast." Noah said.

The two just did their morning routine. And then, they went down into the kitchen. "We've got some cereal, and some waffles that just are heated up in the toaster, there's also milk, and orange juice to drink, what do you want?" Noah asked.

Lucas just looked at Noah a bit surprised. "Um… do you have eggs?" he asked.

"Yeah, in the fridge." Noah replied.

Lucas went to the fridge and opened it up, inside there were a few eggs. He grabbed them, and just began to break them and put them in a bowl, before whipping them together. Within a few minutes, he had made omelets, for the two of them. Noah actually looked rather surprised. "You didn't have to…" Noah said shocked.

"Well, I need some way to repay you for everything you did." Lucas replied.

Noah just nodded, and took the one omelet. When it was done, Noah just put the dishes in the dishwasher and then grabbed his backpack. "Well, this is where we have to part ways." He sighed. "Unfortunately I've got to go to school."

Lucas just nodded. "I'll be at the cave." He said. "Come see me after schools done."

The two walked out, and quickly went their separate ways. Lucas made his way back into the forest and then found the cave.

As he looked into the cave, his heart began to sink and his stomach turned. The water had gone into it, and made a rather big pool. As a result, the food that he had brought from the Smash Mansion was ruined. He just looked rather devastated. "What do I do now?!" Lucas muttered.

* * *

At a tower, a portal appeared, Mugen floated out of it and landed gracefully on the tower. He just looked down at the unsuspecting city below. "Searching for target..." he emotionlessly said.

* * *

"Another monster is emerging!?" Saki said surprised.

"What?!" Isaac said shocked.

"We have to go confront it now." Saki said. He just looked at the monitor on the ship. "No, this thing... It's super strong..."

"Well, let's go!" Isaac said.

* * *

Alex had his head down on his desk. The school day so far had been boring. Not to mention, he was also still exhausted from yesterday. And then, suddenly it was as though the world went silent.

"Hello, humans." A voice said, it was cold and emotionless. He looked around confused. Several other students were looking around confused as well, Alex just breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't going crazy.

"What was that?" The teacher said.

"I am talking to you all through a psychic link. While you can hear me, I can't hear you." The voice said. "I am looking for someone, who had escaped and I'm positive is somewhere in this city. San, I'm looking for you... if you can hear this, turn yourself in. You should be able to find me... I'll give you an hour. If not, well, I guess I'll just have to hunt you down. And then there might be a lot of collateral damage. If one of you is protecting San, turn him in right now... You have one hour!"

Alex just stood up, and gathered his stuff up. Some were looking at him confused, others were just trying to figure out what happened.

"Alex, what's wrong?"

"I feel very sick." he replied. It wasn't a lie. Deep down he was cursing himself for even coming to school this day.

He walked forwards but suddenly stumbled, and fell forwards. He caught himself on a desk and just looked surprised. Other students were also looking at him rather surprised.

"I'll walk him out of class." Cody said, standing up and walking towards him.

The two left. "What was that?" Alex said, breathing a bit heavily.

"Your body seems to of reacted to the psychic waves, that whoever was talking to us was using." Cody said. "We've seen in some experiments that nearby scientists suddenly feel very sick and lose their balance after some telepathic communication, but they quickly get used to it."

"Must be my weak immune system..." Alex sighed.

"I don't think psychic waves has anything to do with the immune system..." Cody replied.

"No probably not." Alex made it to his locker and began to get everything out. "You said I could trust you, right?" Alex said.

"Yeah..." Cody replied.

"That person, San, I may know who he is." Alex said.

"Are you going to turn him over?" Cody said.

"The reason that Z has been away these past two days..."

"Zee?" Cody said confused. "Oh you mean Zoroark..."

"We found him in the forest, near death..." Alex said gasping.

"Hey, are you all right?" Cody asked. "You're condition has gotten worse."

Alex just began to fall forwards, where Cody caught him to make sure that he didn't smack his head against the floor. "Hey!"

"You've got your license, right?" Alex gasped.

"Yeah..."

"You've got a car here, right?"

"Yeah." He said pulling out a pair of keys.

"Can you drive me home..."

"Yeah." Cody said.

* * *

Zoroark was looking at San, and currently just standing between him and the door. "What are you doing?" San asked.

"I'm stopping you."

"You can't do that. You have to realize that if I don't go, people will no doubt die!" San said. "That person... if they sent him, they desparately want me back."

Saki and Isaac came in through the front door. "We heard that psychic broadcast." Saki said. "All right, brat, we're here to take you to him."

Zoroark however turned to the two. "You will do no such thing."

"Sorry, but our mission is to ensure the protection of those in this world." Isaac said. "We're not going to let Zenith's infighting kill a bunch of people here! We'll be taking him."

"I won't let you!" Zoroark said, getting his claws ready.

"You have to know you're outmatched..." Saki said.

Zoroark just cringed. Of course he knew it. Suddenly his cellphone went of. He reached for it and saw that it was Alex. "Master," Zoroark said.

"Z..." Alex said. "I'm coming home. Can you hold San there until I get there. It should be about 10 minutes..."

"Of course." Zoroark said. He faced them. "Alex will be here in 10 minutes. Let's at least wait until then..."

The three seemed to agree on that. 10 minutes later, Alex and Cody had arrived. Zoroark rushed over to help Alex out of the car, while Cody finally began to take some phone calls that he was getting from a cellphone.

"All right." Cody said after hanging up. "The current situation is that they are preparing to act and find whoever sent the message. Now then, you said that there was the actual San here in your house?"

"Yes." Alex said, as he drank a cup of water. "That's him."

They looked at the rather terrified child.

"And are you going to turn him over?"

Alex just sighed. "No, I'd like to avoid that, but that person sounded like he was going to do some major damage if he didn't turn himself in. I think we can beat him."

"You can't." San said. Everyone just turned to face him. "You really can't... He's beyond a normal human... He's beyond a Smasher's capability... The only way to make sure everyone lives is if I turn myself over."

"You'll die..." Alex said.

"I know..." San replied.

Cody nodded. "Very well then." He said. "If that's his choice..."

"Cody, can you help us?" Alex asked.

Cody however shook his head. "I can't." He replied. "If I'm seen with you guys, that could be disasterous for my family, and the plan. There will be a time when I will help you, but right now, its not it. All that I can do is drive you to the destination."

"Okay then, I understand." Alex replied. "I think it might be possible, if we can get rid of this guy, we might be able to keep San alive."

"I keep telling you, it's pointless..." San whimpered.

Alex however shook his head. "No, I don't see it like that. No one is invincible. We just need a plan..." He glanced at Saki and Isaac, "Can I ask you two to go all out?"

"I guess." Saki sighed.

"Good, then we might have a chance." Alex said. "Now, we just have to find him. Where is he?"

"That I don't know..." San said. "At least not yet."

"Is there a way to hunt him down?" Alex wondered.

"There is, I just can't do it." San replied. "I'm not proficient in the sensing abilities."

"Well, what can we do then…" Isaac said. "This city is huge, we can't exactly just travel around it in the remaining time. And we don't exactly have our scanner repaired yet. It showed that he was emerging, but it couldn't get a general location."

"I could try something." Alex said. "By using Aura, I might be able to find him."

Saki just nodded. "Then, let's try that." He said.

Alex just closed his eyes and began to concentrate. "I think I can do this…" He said. "Let's find him now…" He began to use aura to try and see everything, slowly expanding his range. But soon he reached his limit. He couldn't see any further, no matter what he did. "I'm sorry, I can't see any further."

"Now what?" Saki asked.

"Hello everyone." The voice said. "It's been 30 minutes, and I'm beginning to grow impatient. San, if you can hear this, people will die if you don't come and hand yourself to me. I haven't even felt you try and find me..."

"You know, he really isn't bringing up the option or possiblity that you can't actually move..." Alex said.

"Now then, thirty minutes before people start dying San!" He finished off. "Of course, I realize that for you, this is a worthless threat since you don't care about anyone's lives... You were always weak too... If you can't find me by sensing it, then I've got something new for you. I brought with me a monster. It's currently in a containment field... but it's still visible... I even see a bunch of weak looking humans gathering around down there staring at it. Maybe I could release it… Thirty minutes San…"

Saki just stood up, and began to walk outside. "What are you doing?"

"It's my turn to try and find them." Saki said, after he got outside, he jumped up onto the roof. He just looked off into the distance. "Found them!" Saki shouted.

Everyone rushed outside and looked up at Saki. He just jumped off of the roof and onto the grass. "Okay, good." Cody said. "I can still drive you guys."

San just changed into his uniform, and they all drove off. It was quite easy to find the giant sphere that was containing an orange monster inside it. Much like the person had said, there were people who had gathered around looking at it. It was currently above a parking lot, Cody dropped them off. "Take my car back." Alex said. "Sorry, but you're going to have to find your own way back."

Cody just smiled. "Yeah." He said. "Don't worry about me. I'll just take pleasure in knowing that you'll be walking back to your house from here, so we can be even in that regard."

"Yeah."

"Good luck." Cody said, before driving off. The five of them walked towards the crowd.

"How are we even going to talk to him?" Saki wondered.

"5 minutes San." His voice started playing through their heads. "I'm growing bored and tiered. And you stupid humans are annoying me. I think I'm going to release this creature now!"

"Stop!" San shouted. "I'm here!"

"You're here..." he laughed. "Well then, come onto the roof of this building..."

Zoroark had used an illusion to make them disappear, where Isaac was able to make a giant hand appear, and it lifted them all up to the roof of the mall. Saki and Isaac, just hung onto the wall of the mall and made their way around, waiting for their chance to ambush the person. They walked over to see someone in a similar uniform waiting there, just looking down at the parking lot.

"Welcome, San, and four guests." He said, not even bothering to look back. "You two can come out of hiding..."

The two jumped onto the roof and just stared at the kid. Saki raised his gun, while Isaac drew his sword.

"Now, now," he said. "You wouldn't want to do that. I still hold all the chips in this negotiation. Hand him over to me. Or I will release the creature."

"How can we be sure that you won't release this creature once we hand him over to you?" Alex asked.

The person didn't reply.

"Answer me!" Alex snapped.

The person just turned to face them. Much like San he was a kid, Alex estimated about only a few years younger than him, at 14 or 15 at the most. He just looked over the Smashers and then at Alex and Zoroark and San.

"So, you went to the Smashers... I changed my mind." He said. "I'm releasing it right now." he lifted up his arm and shot an energy beam right at the barrier, it hit and exploded, suddenly the creature fell down into the parking lot. People began to scream, and run away. From up on the roof, all that they could see were red spheres suddenly flying everywhere, and the sound of several explosions. They rushed over to see the monster and the destruction it was causing.

In the parking lot there was a giant orange lizard like creature. On it's back was a machine and a bunch of tubes. It had a black underside, and then there were it's back legs which just seemed to be two flippers.

"The Biolizard!" Alex said shocked.

"What?" Isaac said.

"It's called the Biolizard, it's the prototype to the ultimate life form." Alex replied. "Why did you release it?" Alex shouted turning to face the person, but he had vanished. He turned his attention back down to the parking lot. He was afraid. he was hoping that the people had gotten away safely, but... the flaming wreckage of the parking lot begged to differ. He placed his hand down and looked inside the shopping mall. It had been mostly evacuated, he imagined back when the monster appeared in the sphere...

"I'll let you all live if you can beat this monster." His voice rang out.

They all jumped down to the ground, each of them looking at the giant lizard. "Well, looks like we have to take care of this thing." Isaac said. "It should be easy."

"Yeah." Saki laughed. "All right... here I go!"

He ran towards it, not even afraid as it towered over him. The creature snapped towards Saki, who just jumped out of the way and slashed at it with his cannon sword, he also fired the gun. However his attacks seemed to do next to nothing, as though they were hitting a barrier.

The Biolizard began to spit out energy balls towards Saki who just dodged them.

"Saki, you have to attack the life support system on it's back!" Alex shouted.

Saki just nodded, and began to run for the Biolizard's head. He jumped onto one of the tubes, and began to run up it, however, the Biolizard was easily able to move and cause him to lose his footing. He fell towards the ground and a pink ball shot towards him. It hit and exploded sending him flying away. He landed on the ground and began to skid for a few feet, before he recovered and rushed back to the Biolizard. However a sudden beam of energy shot out from what looked like metal disks that were attached to the Biolizard's body.

Saki was able to dodge, but where the laser had hit caused a large explosion, made out of an expanding sphere of energy.

"What's going on?" Alex said surprised.

"What do you mean?" Isaac asked.

"The Biolizard... It shouldn't be able to do this. That attack was from it's next form, when it was attached to the Space Colony ARK, and could draw in power from that." Alex replied.

Isaac just nodded. "Okay..."

Saki had gotten close to the Biolizard once again. However the beast let out a roar and suddenly everyone began to float up into the air. The pink spheres began to rush for everyone, Isaac and Zoroark began to cut through them, to protect Alex and San. Saki on the other hand was constantly getting pelted by them. Through out all of this Saki was able to shoot at the life support system on it's back. The blast was enough to cause damage to the Biolizard, and they all fell towards the ground. Zoroark had quickly caught Alex, and Isaac had caught San.

Saki on the other hand just landed face first. He got up and just looked rather annoyed at the monster. "I'm going to kill you, then grill you, and eat you for the next month!" Saki said annoyed.

The Biolizard just let out a roar, and fired another beam of energy right at Saki, he jumped out of the way, however the beam of energy rushed into the mall, exploded, and destroyed a good portion of it.

Alex just stared in disbelief. In an instant something that had been there all of his life had vanished. "We have to stop it, before this thing causes any more damage." Alex said, walking forwards.

"Master, wait!" Zoroark said. "You're not strong enough right now!"

"I can't let this thing destroy everything!" Alex replied. "Saki can't fight this thing alone."

"Master, please, you're sick!" Zoroark said. "Leave this to Saki and Isaac."

Isaac just quickly punched Alex in the stomach winding him. He fell to the ground, the next few second several spires shot up from the ground, trapping both Alex and San inside. "Sorry." Isaac said, "But Zoroark is right, right now you're just a giant liability."

Isaac just ran off. Alex just began to gasp out. "What if a laser comes our way. We can't run or defend ourselves like this..." But Isaac didn't hear him. He had drawn his sword and several red spheres rushed towards him. He quickly began to cut through them, but every time he cut one they suddenly exploded, sending him flying back. Zoroark was rushing towards the Biolizard. He thought about using illusions on it, however the lack of eyes, or at least organic eyes, would make them worthless.

It slammed it's tail down, which caused the ground to shake. The spires that San and Alex were under shifted so that they could get out. Alex wanted to rush towards the Biolizard and fight it with the others, but San was leading him away from the battle.

"Stop." Alex muttered.

"I have to get you away from here." San said. "You're in no condition to fight..."

"No stop." Alex repeated. "There's a barrier in front of us..." He shot a weak aura sphere and it collided with a barrier.

"He must of put it up." San said. "To trap us in and make sure I didn't run again..."

The two of them just turned to watch Saki, Isaac and Zoroark fight the Biolizard. It let out a deafening roar, that seemed to stun the three of them, suddenly they were all knocked back by the red balls. They flew towards them, and upon contact they exploded, sending them flying back. Saki just quickly began to run forwards, if any red ball came towards him he just immediately shot at it, there were a few that he wasn't able to shoot down, but he quickly figured out the pattern. The red balls would flash white before flying towards someone, otherwise, they would just remain stationary, floating around the Biolizard. Isaac on the other hand stopped attacking the balls with his sword. Instead he raised up his hand. "ZYPHER!" He shouted, a purple djinn appeared, and suddenly his speed had dramatically increased, he was able to dodge each and every red sphere that was sent his way.

Zoroark was also using his agility to avoid the attacks. Soon all the red spheres were gone. Saki breathed a quick sigh of relief, however suddenly a bunch more appeared around the Biolizard. "How can they stop that thing!?" San asked.

"I don't know if they can..." Alex replied. "San, move!" He quickly pushed San away and jumped away, one of the red balls had rushed towards them. Alex just looked at the Biolizard in shock. It was now targeting them too. Or was it attacking indiscriminately? Saki, Isaac and Zoroark were distracted by the Biolizard attacking Alex and San, several of the red balls rushed towards them and exploded, sending them flying away. Several laser beams then rushed in all directions.

Saki and Isaac were hit by the attack and sent flying back, hitting the barrier. Zoroark managed to dodge a beam. San on the other hand was frozen in place. A laser rushed right for him and all he could do was put his hands in front of him and try to counter.

The attack hit, and there was a large explosion. He went flying back and right in to the barrier. Alex quickly rushed to San's side. "San!" He shouted.

San just looked up at Alex. "I'm sorry." San weakly said. "This is my fault. I shouldn't of ran away."

"San." Alex just said shocked, the boy in front of him, wasn't in good condition. He just lost a good chunk of his arms blocking that attack. "Save your strength, we'll get you some help."

"I won't last that long." San said. "I know I'm going to die soon."

Alex just cringed.

"You're afraid, but it's only going to get worse." San said. "As the barriers between the two words weaken, more and more creatures will cross over. They will send more over just like this too. This is only the beginning. If the first San is out there somewhere, he might be willing to help."

"What? But you said that he was long gone..."

"He might not be... there is a small chance he is still alive." San replied. "I felt his presence briefly on this planet earlier..."

"How?" Alex asked. "I thought you said you weren't good at sensing things."

San just nodded. "I don't know how either. But he is somewhere, and somehow I could sense him."

Saki got back up and rushed over to the two of them. He glanced at San, but didn't let it distract him.

"Hey, Alex!" Saki said. "How was it beaten in the game?"

"Sonic and Shadow transformed into their super forms and fought it... together they managed to kill it." Alex replied. "Saki, can you transform?"

Saki's eyes widened in shock. "No, I can't, sorry. Not even in this barrier. I'm not even sure how much longer this barrrier will hold up."

"Then it might all be over." Alex sighed.

Isaac and Zoroark were trying to attack the Biolizard once again, however everything began to float once again. Saki just quickly fired his canon sword right at the Biolizard's life support unit. The attack hit and the normal gravity returned. Saki landed on the ground and just smiled. "I don't think he's going to be trying that any time soon." Saki laughed. "Giving me a clear shot of his weak point even a dumb monster can't be that dumb."

Zoroark and Isaac just nodded in agreement.

Saki just began to run towards the Biolizard, constantly firing at it with his canon sword. The red balls rushed towards him, but he began to dodge them. Saki actually manged to get close enough to cut through a tube that was connected to the life support system.

A white gas came out of the tubes, and the Biolizard let out a cry of pain. It then faced Saki, and was very clearly enraged. The red balls increased their speed, a few even managing to hit Saki, suddenly Saki was right by it's tail, which it flicked and sent him right into the barrier. The red balls continued their assault, actually keeping him pinned to the barrier. If that wasn't enough, the Biolizard was constantly sending beams of energy and some energy spheres right at Saki.

Saki was able to withstand the assault, however, he suddenly heard the sound of several things cracking. He assumed that a few were his bones, but he glanced to the side to see the barrier beginning to crack as well. But throughout all of the attacks he also saw something else, something that absolutely terrified him.

Outside of the barrier there was a kid watching. With the constant assault, and the barrier weakening, Saki was beginning to fear the worst. "Get the hell out of here kid!" He shouted. The kid just looked up at Saki. "Go, scram! Get lost!" The kid was terrified and quickly jumped on a bike and began to pedal to get away.

Saki just breathed a sigh of relief. Throughout that assault, Isaac had gotten closer to the Biolizard and managed to cut off another one of it's tubes. For a few seconds the Biolizard took it's attention off of Saki and turned to Isaac. The assault of constant attacks were now going against the adept.

Saki was unable to get back up, his body was too baddy beaten. Isaac tried using some psyenergy to form giant hands to stop the attack, however they were immediately pierced through.

Within a few minutes the Biolizard stopped it's attack, and Isaac fell onto the ground defeated. After that onslaught, had ended the barrier finally let out and shattered. The Biolizard just looked at San, Zoroark, and Alex. Zoroark was quick to act, quickly rushing towards it, several red balls flew towards him, however he just jumped into the air, where it seemed like the Biolizard had anticipated that and several more rushed right to Zoroark and exploded, sending him flying back and lying on the ground.

Alex just did his best to stand up, and walk towards the Biolizard. It was constantly keeping it's eyes on him. However a few seconds later Alex collapsed. The world was once again spinning. He was in no condition to fight.

San just walked in front of the downed Alex. "San, run!"

"No, I can't." San replied. "This thing has killed enough people today... It's destroyed enough..."

"Run!" Alex repeated.

"Running was what caused this tragedy." San replied. "Then again, running was what led me to meet you... I've given you no shortage of trouble... I'm sorry, this is goodbye."

"What?!" Alex said shocked.

"My time is up. This is the only thing I can do to repay you for your kindness." San said. His body began to glow. "It's outside might be tough, but it's interior is extremely vulnerable."

"Wait what?!" Alex said surprised.

The Biolizard breathed another energy beam. San just flew towards the attack and then the two collided. San persevered, using his body as a shield as he got closer and closer to the Biolizard, until eventually the attack had stopped.

Alex looked up and only saw the Biolizard there, the attack had either vaporized San, or San had actually gotten inside the Biolizard's mouth. Neither was preferable.

"You idiot!?" Alex shouted out frustrated. And then someway, somehow, San's memories began to flow into his head.

* * *

"This one is pathetic."

"We should kill it."

"It's useless. It needs to die."

"Let's run a few more tests."

"You're worthless."

"It's so creepy. They don't act like normal people at all. They're listening and waiting for any orders, but they don't show any signs of listening."

"You're new here. You'll get used to it in a month."

"It might prove to be of some use after all."

"At least for the next generation."

"It was only a fluke."

"Don't get sentimental, they are worthless, the lot of them. They are just tools."

"Of the 4 that were sent out, somehow San was the only one to survive."

"How is this possible? Everything states that it should be a lesser soldier."

"He's supposed to be the weakest."

"Time and time again, San has proven our numbers wrong."

"What's so unique about him? It shouldn't be like this!"

"San restrain him!"

"Attention everyone, your mission today is to invade the Smash Mansion!"

* * *

Alex just gasped for air. He felt a cold sweat all over his body. What he saw he felt was just a bunch of disjointed memories from San's past.

"Hey, are you okay?" Saki asked.

Alex just looked confused. "_Did I black out?! I thought they were all down for the count…_" Saki, Isaac, and Zoroark were standing above him, they appeared to be in a bit better condition, however, they still had a few scratches over them.

Isaac put his hand on Alex's forehead. "He's burning up." Isaac said. "We need to end this now... You might have to transform."

"I'd rather not." Saki replied. "If I do the end result would be even more damage."

"Still, we don't have a choice, I can restrain you..." Isaac said.

Saki just nodded. "Very well then. Zoroark, get Alex out of here!"

Zoroark just lifted up Alex and began to run away. After they had gotten at least 100 meters away, and Alex was realizing what was going on, he turned to Zoroark.

"Zoroark, put me down." Alex said. "They can't fight it on their own."

"You can't fight it either. In your current state you're going to get yourself killed!" Zoroark said.

Alex just looked at his hand. "You're right. But, I can't stand back and watch anymore, I can't let anyone else die in front of me!" Alex said.

Zoroark just nodded. "I understand, Master."

Alex just ran forwards towards the beast. However, he just collapsed in exhaustion. Zoroark just grabbed him and began to carry him in his arms. "You understand, don't you Master, this is out of your league..."

Suddenly the Biolizard began to let out screams of pain. Light was beginning to pop out of it's body, and it began to rapidly bloat up. Saki and Isaac quickly began to run away. And then, it exploded.

The four were tossed across the ground from the force of the explosion and just laid there for several minutes.

"What the hell just happened?" Saki asked.

"San... he forced that attack into the Biolizard, and exploded within the beast..." Alex replied. "That's the only thing I could think of... It's over... sorry San, I wasn't strong enough to save you..."

"And what a sad and pathetic end that was." A voice laughed. Alex just cringed, even though he was losing consciousness fast, he recognized the voice, it was the person that had come to hunt San down. "That idiot died trying to protect someone!" he laughed. "He forgot who's side we were actually on!"

Saki and Isaac just forced themselves up. They had their swords ready and aimed at the kid. "Well, looks like we get to kill you next."

"Please you can barely stand." the person laughed. "And you could barely scratch the Biolizard. But if it's a death wish you want, you can get it!" The two of them were blasted away by a burst of energy, and then he walked towards Alex, and then lifted him up by the shirt collar. "Why did he try to protect you?"

"Master!" Zoroark shouted, rushing towards the assailant. However Zoroark was also sent flying several feet back.

"You really piss me off!" The kid said, as he kicked Alex up into the air. Alex landed painfully on the ground and just glared at the kid.

"You know, I don't know what it is, but all of a sudden, I don't want to lose to you." Alex said struggling to get up.

"I don't think you have to worry about losing! You should be more worried about not dieing!"

The kid began to rapidly punch Alex, there was nothing that he could do to fight back in retaliation. Each and every hit just landed on him, and felt akin to getting hit by a truck. After a few minutes of the relentless assault, the kid stopped, and Alex fell onto the ground. The constant barrage was the only thing that had been keeping him up earlier.

Alex could only lie there as his entire body was screaming out in pain. "I thought you humans were much more frail than this. I wonder how many bones had I broken in those last few attacks..."

The kid just lifted up Alex by the neck. However suddenly some giant claws pierced right through the kid. His eyes widened, and he dropped Alex. Alex just glanced back to see the source of the attack. It was from Saki. His arm had changed dramatically, and was that of a monsters. Isaac quickly rushed up to Alex, slashed the kid's arm with his sword, grabbed Alex, rushed several meters away and began to heal him.

"What?" Alex said confused.

"Thanks for keeping him occupied." Isaac said. "We were able to heal ourselves."

"Still..." Alex muttered. "How?"

"Pure Maxim Tomato capsules..." Isaac replied. "They healed up most of our wounds."

"You have any others?"

"Sorry, we only had 6, we used 3 earlier, and just now Zoroark got the last one. There are a few more on the ship, but you probably won't last that long..." Isaac said.

Zoroark began to attack the kid. However it quickly became apparent that even with both Saki and Zoroark at full power and not exhausted from the previous fight, were no match for him. He was effortlessly dodging each and every attack that they made. Zoroark even used his illusions to to hide his real attacks, but the kid just saw through them.

It was also quite clear that Isaac wasn't used to healing people, but Alex was feeling a bit of relief, and was finding that the pain was slowly vanishing. After several minutes, Isaac just stretched out his hand. "Can you stand now?"

"Yeah..." Alex said, slowly getting up. His body was screaming in pain, trying to tell him not to move or do anything. The kid just looked up from his battle and glared at Alex. Saki and Zoroark quickly rushed to Alex and Isaac's side.

"So, you're back together." he laughed. "I guess I can kill you all then."

"Who the hell are you?" Saki asked.

"My name? You can call me Mugen."

"Infinite..." Alex muttered.

"Ah, good, so you know what that means." Mugen laughed. "Then let me show you my infinite power."

He stretched out his hand and suddenly an energy ball appeared in it. It grew bigger, and expanded until finally it shrunk down into a small size, about the same as a tennis ball. Alex just shaped his hand like a gun and shot an aura bullet right at it, causing it to explode. Mugen quickly jumped away from it, avoiding the explosion, however the force of the blast was still enough to send Mugen, and the four that he was fighting back several feet.

"You can use Aura?!" Mugen said surprised after recovering. "I thought you were just a worthless normal human?"

"I'll show you worthless!" Alex snapped.

Mugen just laughed. "Is that so? Listen, now that you've seen my strength, and know what I'm capabale of, why do you oppose me and fight for a doomed future."

"We're not fighting for the future, we're fighting for the now." Alex replied.

"You really should of just continued being a good little human." Mugen laughed. "You knew nothing about San. Had you not been involved, maybe then he would of just disappeared as suddenly as he appeared, but then you also got yourself involved with the Smashers. So, sadly all four of you have to die!"

Alex just glared at Mugen. "I won't let San's sacrifice be in vain." Alex said.

"Sacrifice? Ha!" Mugen laughed. "He didn't heroically sacrifice himself to save you. He just decided that he better die, than let me kill him! He knew what was in store. He knew I lied about sparing everyone if you beat the Biolizard. Let me show you the true infinite power that I hold."

Mugen just snapped his fingers and all four of them went flying backwards. Saki, Isaac and Zoroar got up almost immediately and ran towards him. They attacked, but he vanished, reappearing a few seconds behind them. They all fell down to the ground.

Alex just struggled to get up. How was this kid so strong? Why was he so strong?

Mugen just appeared right in front of Alex and kicked him up into the air, he landed painfully on the ground.

"And it looks like your tale is over." Mugen said. He reached down and pulled Alex up by the shirt. "In the end, you're just a foolish human, who stuck his nose where it didn't belong."

Alex just laughed. Was it the shock? Was it the stress finally getting to him? He just laughed. In this situation, it was all he wanted to do.

"What's so funny?" Mugen asked.

Between the laughing, Alex was able to say. "Before you kill me, I at least want an answer."

"Sure." Mugen said. "But that knowledge won't help you in the next life."

"What are you and San?" Alex asked.

"Oh," He said. "We're warriors, who are supposed to fuse the two worlds together."

"That's not what I meant." Alex said. "You're human, arn't you?"

"No. We're genetically engineered to be superior to humans." Mugen said. "We're the evolution of humanity."

"Why did you have to kill San?"

"I thought you only had one question." Mugen said.

"Sorry." Alex said. "Just really curious."

"For one reason or another, he disobeyed orders. And then disappeared. We exist and live to serve, and so one who has become aware, and tries to escape, must be eliminated, as that would be dangerous if they fell into enemy hands, as it almost looked like San did. I do have to admire him though, being the second person to escape." Mugen said.

"The First San... he said he was looking for him."

Mugen just laughed. "The first San is probably long gone by now. Now, this conversation has gone on for long enough..."

Mugen suddenly stabbed Alex through the stomach with his bare hand. Alex screamed out in pain and then he was tossed aside.

"I guess a normal human such as yourself would fear death..." Mugen said beginning to walk away.

"Mugen." Alex weakly said.

Mugen just looked over his shoulder to see the dying human. "Beg human…"

"San said that the first San was still alive…" Alex muttered.

Mugen just suddenly looked absolutely terrified. "What?! That's impossible… how could he still be alive…" Mugen grabbed Alex by the hair and lifted him up. "Tell me, where is he!?"

"How am I supposed to know." Alex laughed. "He just said that he sensed him…"

Mugen just tossed threw Alex right down to the ground. "Just hurry up and die." He muttered.

Alex just had a smile across his face. "So, the first San knows something that might end up being disastrous to you." Alex weakly said. "I'll keep that in mind…"

San walked over to Zoroark, Saki, and Isaac, ready to deliver the final blows.

"_It was an absolute defeat._" Saki thought, he looked over to see both Zoroark and Isaac not even conscious, and Mugen approaching. _"Guess I really don't have a choice..._" Saki was consumed by the desire to live, the desire to survive, and was willing to do anything to do just that. His blood began to boil, and any wounds on his body began to heal. He sprung up and lunged right for Mugen.

Mugen was able to dodge the attack, but was taken aback, and was rather surprised by Saki's sudden recovery. "A cheap trick..." Mugen said. "Nothing more..."

Mugen began to approach Saki, however he froze. He wasn't sure why, but he was positive that if he took another few steps Saki would rip him in two. The person in front of him wasn't human, everything about him was reminding Mugen of a cornered animal, ready to do anything to survive. Saki's arm was slowly being covered in scales.

"You're so desperate that you would lose yourself and risk killing everyone else here to beat me." Mugen laughed, he just turned away. Saki however took this as the chance to attack. He pounced right for Mugen and slashed his arm. Mugen had jumped out of the way, rather surprised by Saki's speed. He quickly jumped into the air, but Saki followed, attacking Mugen once again. He slashed right down Mugen, and all he could do was block. When Mugen landed on the ground he looked at his arm and noticed the claw marks and the blood.

"I'm bleeding!" He shouted out, both surprised and outraged. "You worthless scum made me bleed!"

Saki lunged for Mugen once again and slashed at where he was. However, Mugen disapperaed. Saki just cut through air, he just froze for several seconds, trying to find where Mugen went, however he was suddenly hit by a blast of water.

Saki just blinked a few times confused. Isaac was slowly getting up, right at his side was a blue mercury djinn. "Let's get out of here..." Isaac said. "Alex needs medical attention."

Zoroark was also beginning to get up. The three of them struggled to over where Alex was. He was somehow still alive, but clearly weak, and on his last legs. Saki just lifted him up and put him on his back, while Isaac's djinn began to quickly try and heal him.

"Are you okay?" Saki asked.

"What do you think?" Alex replied.

"Sorry, that was a stupid question."

"I've been in worse shape before..." Alex weakly said.

Somehow, Saki doubted that, but he wasn't ready to argue that. He was just ready to return to the ship and help heal Alex.

"Freeze, and put your hands up!" A voice blared. Everyone just froze. For the first time they paid attention to their surroundings. Besides the rubble of where the mall used to be, their only means of escape was covered by a group of police officers.

"Crap." Saki said rather annoyed.

"We took too long." Alex muttered

"Put that person you're carrying down too, beast." a person said.

"We have to get out of here." Isaac said.

"Stop talking!"

Saki just placed his cannon sword by Alex's neck. "We will kill him." Saki replied. "We can leave him on the ground in exchange for safe passage. I'm sure he's the only one that knows what's going on and will be able to fill you in."

"We saw him fighting that monster too, he's with you guys." The one officer said.

"_Why didn't you idiots actually jump in and help, if that was the case!?_" Saki just removed his cannon sword from Alex's neck, while cursing under his breath. "Crap, got any ideas?"

"Transform." Alex weakly muttered.

"If I do that..."

"Stop talking! If you don't surrender, we will fire."

"Jeeze, we're protecting you dumbasses, and doing your job, and now you want to kill us." Saki said raising his hand right up to his mouth. "Well then, just you try it." He suddenly bit down on his hand. What came next was a near instantaneous transformation, into a large scaly humanoid creature.

The police began to just open fire. But the bullets did nothing to Saki. Zoroark and Isaac jumped into Saki's hand. And then Saki began to run away. Zoroark quickly made an illusion so that it appeared that Saki had disappeared into thin air. During all of this Alex blacked out.

* * *

Mugen was on top of a building, gasping for air. He was afraid. For the first time in his life, he realized that he was going to die. Saki would have been able to kill him in that situation.

"Are you Mugen?" A voice asked. Mugen just turned around in shock to face a cloaked figure. He was afraid, he didn't know when this person had snuck up behind him, how long he had been there. Could that person also of been able to kill him too? Would he have just been suddenly slain without knowing what hit him?

"And who wants to know?" Mugen asked.

"That doesn't matter. I watched your battle and I'd just like to inform you that the person you thought you killed survived." The cloaked figure laughed. "You also could have killed Saki back then, but you left the Smashers alive. Is there perhaps some doubt in your heart?"

"I just simply wanted them to know my name and fear it." Mugen said. "I wanted them to go back to the other Smashers and explain."

"So, you just wanted them to be messengers." The cloaked figure laughed. "Amusing. So, this is the world that you are trying to destroy. What are your thoughts?"

"This backwater place." Mugen laughed. "it's nothing compared to our world. The two universes fusing will be a good thing."

"Do you say that as yourself, or as a puppet." The cloaked figure asked.

Mugen just looked at the person rather shocked. "You're trying to spread the seeds of doubt in me."

"Sadly, I'm not. The seeds of doubt are all ready in you. I'm just cultivating them." The cloaked figure laughed.

Mugen was just in shock. He rushed for the cloaked figure and attacked. However the kick just passed right through the cloaked figure. "You should have known, this is only a projection."

Mugen just faced the projection. "I just felt like hitting something." he said.

Nugai just smiled. "You, much like San have free will, do you not? Just unlike San, you're actually good at hiding it."

Mugen just froze. "Get out of here." He said.

"Well then, Mugen, I hope we meet again and you aren't replaced."

"I won't be replaced any time soon." Mugen muttered. "And besides, shouldn't you be giving me your name?!"

"Oh, it's Nugai. Until we meet again, Mugen." the figure disappeared. Mugen was just left alone on the top of the building.

"I won't be replaced any time soon." Mugen repeated, this time he just collapsed. He was shaking in fear. He knew, if they found out he would be replaced, the perfect soldier shouldn't know fear.

* * *

Alex woke up, and just looked up at his ceiling. He was in his bed, and some sunlight was peaking in from the window.

"A dream?" He said a bit drowsy. "Yeah, that's what it was, just a dream." He tried to convince himself. He looked at his arms, where he was attacked, there were no wounds. There was no marks anywhere. His back hurt a little bit, but that was a semi normal occurance, he would toss and turn, and ocasionally twist the wrong way in his sleep.

He got up, and walked down past the washroom, where the door was closed and the shower was running. "Zoroark is probably just taking a shower." He muttered, walking downstairs into the living room. There was no one there.

He reached for the remote, but then paused. His stomach was growling. He got up and walked to the kitchen. He looked at the clock. 8:00 PM, he must of fallen asleep while studying, and Zoroark checked in, and had put him in bed. Yeah, that's what must of happened.

He just began to cut up some vegetables, and then boil water. He figured a nice soup would fill him up and would make him feel better. And then the water stopped running.

Zoroark would take a few minutes to fully dry himself, and then blow dry and brush his hair. But, he didn't hear the blow dryier, and then, the door opened.

Instead of Zoroark, out walked Saki. Alex just suddenly felt the realization that everything was real, hit him like a brick.

"You're up." Saki said rather surprised.

"Yeah." Alex said, deciding to make more food. "Where's Zoroark and Isaac?"

"They went out for a few things. I stayed behind to wash off the crap." Saki said.

"Oh." Alex said.

"In the future, my transformation is only a last resort." Saki said.

"You can control it, right?" Alex asked.

"Sort of." Saki said. "I can lose control at times, mainly when I'm exhausted and have to do multiple transformations. I at times need someone else there to remind me that I'm a human, and not a ruffian. Although, I do have to ask, how did you know about my transformation?"

"It's in your game." Alex replied, his attention turning back to the soup he was making. The soup finished, and then several minutes later Isaac and Zoroark came in through the front door, carrying some supplies Alex assumed that was from the ship. They both looked at Alex rather surprised that he was out of bed all ready.

Soon Alex just served the soup at the dinner table. The meal was mostly spent in silence, and then, when it was over, the two Smashers faced him.

"So, I guess this would be the best time to ask." Saki sighed. "After today's events, do you want to do this?"

Alex just looked at the two of them in shock. "What do you mean?!"

"You know it's dangerous, and now seems like the best time for you to back down. We can always return to Master Hand and tell him that Nugai's successor backed down." Isaac said.

"There is no shame in saying that you're afraid." Saki said. "You're life is on the line, and no normal person would willingly be doing anything this crazy."

"We can erase your memories too, you'll forget everything that happened..." Isaac said.

Alex just sat there. "Can you give me a while to think about it."

"Of course." Saki said.

"Thank you." Alex replied. He got up and walked downstairs. "

He's actually thinking about it?" Isaac said a bit shocked.

Saki just nodded. "He's just a kid, isn't he? I think it's the first time he's really experienced death."

Zoroark just looked down grimly at the ground. "Master..."

"If he decides to back away, will you come with us Zoroark?" Saki asked. "It might be for the best. You would make him a constant target since you're from our world."

"I will stay by Master's side." Zoroark replied. "Without me, he would be rather lonely. Without me he doesn't have anyone…"

* * *

Downstairs in the basement, Alex was looking at all of the games he had. His fingers were currently on Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.

"Is this why you gave me all of your games?" He asked nobody.

He sat down on a chair and just looked up at the ceiling. His mind was going back to the day he had inherited all of this.

* * *

A bunch of people were gathered in a room around a long table. At the head of the table was a lawyer. In front of him was a bunch of papers.

Everyone just had a glimmer in their eye. Nugai had become super rich, by playing the lottery, gambling, playing the stock market. Almost over night, he had rose up from nobody to a financial giant. And here were many of his relatives, from cousins to his aunts and uncles, and finally there were a few of his friends. They all wanted a piece of that pie.

A few eyes focused on Alex, wondering why he was there, especially since he was only discharged from the hospital a few days earlier. He was still weak, and had to have some help to get around.

"You've been called here today for the distribution of his belongings. He has hired me, and given me the instructions on who gets what."

"This seems way to much like a reading of a will." One said.

"Yes." The lawyer said. "He told me to do this. His words were, after the verdict, Andrew is no more, he is dead, this is my last will and testament, please make sure everything is distributed through out the people here."

The words weighed heavily on some of them. On others, they just began to talk amongst themselves. "Maybe he really was insane..."

Alex just remembered being incredibly bored. He went over everyone's face, and soon returned to his DS playing some Pokemon.

"I Andrew, of sound mind and body-"

"Ha, that's a laugh." Someone shouted out.

The lawyer just ignored the person. "I Andrew, of sound mind and body, on Setember 1, 2008 write my first, and last will and testament."

"September 1st?" Alex said a bit shocked.

"That was right after the summer he spent at the cottage with him? Right?" One whispered.

Alex just nodded, he remembered those times so clearly.

"His successor..." another whispered.

Alex just froze, he tried his best to remember those two who were whispering to each other. No... it wasn't two... there were three of them. Two boys and a girl. They weren't relatives, and it didn't seem like any one else knew who they were. They just appeared to be friends of Nugai. But no matter what he tried, he couldn't put a face on any of them.

The lawyer just continued to read through a bunch of different things.

"All cousins get 100,000 from my fortune to finance school." the lawyer read. "Those of you who have finished school, put it towards something else. A future kid's nest egg, or your first house, I really don't care you can squander it on booze if you wish."

The cousins just began to nod.

The next one was the next big shocker of the night. Alex didn't catch the name, after getting the 100,000 to go towards school he had just returned back to the pokemon game he was playing.

"You used to talk about building your own nightclub when we were playing The Sims together, so, I'd like to see that be built. I'm giving you 10 million to start financing it."

"What!?"

The entire room was in shock. Each of the people were staring at the one who just received 10 million. He had lit up a cigarette and just looked around at the glares. "Oh, sorry," he said. "I guess, there was someone who just came out of the hospital here, I'll put it out."

"Ten million?!" One said shocked.

"No way..." Another muttered.

They all looked frustrated, Alex could somehow tell that in each of their minds that they had the mental image of the person who just got that money over them and laughing. The look on his face was rather smug, he just glanced down at the table. "I can't believe that guy remembered that." He muttered.

More and more items were just listed off, everyone had regained their senses, and logically thought that there would be no more big bombshells.

"Finally, Alex. I'm giving my entire collection of video games to you." the lawyer read.

Everyone was staring in shock at Alex, perhaps more than they were at the other cousin for receiving 10 million.

"He willingly gave up his video games?"

"What's going on?"

"Are we really here for the same person."

They all knew that Nugai was extremely possessive of his possessions and didn't part with his stuff lightly. And even then, his entire collection going to one person!?

It was crazy!

It was madness!

"Maybe he really was insane."

The lawyer just began to read. "I had a premonition, one night, that you would need them sometime in the future. Play them, live them, love them as I have loved them."

"He is crazy."

Alex probably would have glared at the person, but he was still recovering from that announcement. He himself couldn't believe it.

"Finally, I've also hidden the rest of my money somewhere." He said. "If you can find it, it's yours."

That was the end of the reading. Slowly people exited out of the room. All Alex could remember was some of the cousins coming up to him, rather frustrated.

"Why do you get all of his games?"

"I don't know." Alex replied.

"I could understand maybe the handhelds for when you're in the hospital, but all of them?"

"Guess we know who his favorite cousin is now."

"I wouldn't be too harsh on the kid." A voice said. Alex looked up to see the one that was smoking earlier. The one who had gotten 10 million.

"Oh yeah, like you have a reason to complain." They scoffed. "Ten million."

"100,000 isn't a lot to scoff at either." he said. "Maybe if you had a dream or something, and told him, he might of supported that too."

They eventually left Alex, and as Alex and his mother were exiting out of the room, the lawyer stopped them.

"He had also given me this letter for you..." the lawyer said. It was in an envelope. Alex just took it, and then opened it up.

_Hey, cousin, sorry I disappeared like that, but well, some stuff suddenly came up. By now, if you're reading this, you've probably got some big questions on your mind, and I've probably put a big burden on you. But, I believe in you, and that I've made the right choice._

_I'm not perfect, no person is. I'm sorry.  
_

What was strange about the note was that there was suddenly a bunch of blank space and then his signature.

* * *

"That note..." He muttered. He began to go through several cases of games, until he found where he had stashed it away. He looked at it again. It was strange. He remembered something else in a game...

He rushed over to some NES games, and found the box containing StarTropics. He opened that, and found the letter addressed to to the main character, Mike Jones. The letter was a physical object and at a certain point in time it was supposed to be dipped in water to reveal a hidden message to proceed in the game.

"Would he of..."

He rushed up to the washroom and just put his letter from his cousin underneath the tap. Much to his surprise, more writing appeared. He just walked out of the washroom and sat down in a chair, and began to read the rest of his cousin's message.

_I wonder how long it will take you to figure out the secret of this letter. Ah well, sorry, I did it like this in case it was intercepted. Of course, I had my own little touch to it, so that even if they knew the secret, they wouldn't be able to actually read it. I'm not insane, what I said is real. And, I believe that you are the only hope humanity has for getting through this crisis._

_There is so much I want to tell you, but I can't really do it, without raising suspicion about why there was a bunch of blank pieces of paper in this letter. I fully suspect it was also inspected before it was handed over to you. Sorry, despite all the time I spent researching the crisis, I haven't found any clues on how to prevent it. _

_I guess the only other thing I have to say, is if anyone ever approaches you with the name Cody, and their 3DS streetpass Mii is named Tei, trust that person with your life. He is a colleague of mine, and is working inside to try and figure everything out._

The letter was over. But he just continued to read it over again and again.

"What am I supposed to do if you don't know how to prevent it?" He muttered. "Damn it, things seemed so much simpler back then…"

Alex was brought back to reality by a noise upstairs.

He just got up from the chair and made his way up. "Is anything broken?" He asked.

"No." Saki replied.

"What was that sound?"

"Just Saki tripping over his own two feet." Isaac replied.

"Okay, I'm going to try and clear my head with a walk." Alex said.

He walked out of the house and towards the trail. When he got there, he just looked down at the river, where he fought Aquamentus. He walked along the trail to the spot where he had met San.

He just stood there for a few minutes in silence. He went deep in thought. Thinking about how much easier everything used to be, back when he just thought that his video games were just simply that, video games.

* * *

Saki glanced at the clock. "It's getting late. Maybe, we should go looking for him."

Zoroark however just shook his head. "Master will be fine, he's probably just doing extra laps around the trail."

"I don't know about that, I mean, he kind of had a giant hole through him a few hours ago." Saki pointed out. "By all means, he shouldn't actually be conscious and moving by now."

"Don't worry." Isaac said. "I had a Djinn follow him out. If he collapsed, the Djinn would have come back to me."

The door suddenly opened, and Alex walked through the door. He faced the three. "I've made my decision." he said. "I'm not going to run away. I will keep fighting, I won't let San's sacrifice be in vain."

"Very well then." Saki said.

"We will do our best to protect you." Isaac added on.

He nodded. "Thanks."

* * *

Elsewhere, the Smash mansion had been fully repaired. Through the tireless work of the wireframes, alloys, Dr. Light's Robot Masters, and the Smashers themselves they were able to get everything back up to normal.

"And I've finally got the communications fixed!" Fox said. Master Hand breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Fox." He said. "Now then, has there been any news from Saki and Isaac?"

Fox began to type on the keyboard and then he just froze. He stared at the monitor in horror. "No way!" He said.

"What?!" Master Hand said terrified.

"The communicator was destroyed. It's no longer sending out a signal."

Master Hand just floated there, his fist clenched. He was shaking in frustration. After things began looking up, it suddenly began to look much worse. "No." He said. "This isn't good."

"What should we say to the others?" Fox wondered. "They will want to know."

"I know." Master Hand said. "However, just because their communication device was destroyed, doesn't mean that they were killed. They might still be alive. We'll just tell them we lost communication."

"They will assume the worst then." Fox said. "In fact I imagine Pichu is in the vents right now, and is about to relay the information to everyone else…"

They turned to the vents, and sure enough Pichu was sitting there. The little mouse pokemon looked a bit nervous. "Hello…" He said. He tried to run, however Master Hand had all ready snapped his fingers, and Pichu had been teleported in front of Master Hand, the little mouse Pokemon was floating in the air, and was desperately trying to run away, but it was pointless.

"Pichu, listen, this is one of those things that need to be handled carefully." Master Hand said. "If you just inform everyone, the message could easily get lost in the shuffle and everyone could think that Saki and Isaac are dead."

"We're going to try and see if they sent out any messages before their communication devices went down." Fox said.

Master Hand just floated there. "Very well, I will call together the Smashers." He said. He floated over to a microphone and pressed a button. "Attention Smashers, please all meet in the briefing room. There will be no exceptions."

"What about us?" Fox asked.

"You two stay here. You all ready know what I'm going to say, besides you can see what happens in this room. Pichu, you're staying in here too. I don't want you to ruin the message." Master Hand said.

Master Hand floated out of the room, and made his way down to the briefing room. He felt terrififed. He just made his way out to the garden for a few minutes. "_The Smashers won't mind if I'm late, right?_" he asked himself. "_No, they would probably be frustrated… they would also probably assume with the longer they have to wait the more bad news I'd be delivering…_"

He just took one quick trip through the garden before making his way back into the mansion and then into the briefing room.

"Geeze, why didn't you just teleport in here!" Captain Falcon shouted.

"You're too slow!" Sonic shouted as well. "You call the thing, and you bore us half to death by making us wait!"

"Sorry, I was just doing some quick inspections on the repairs." Master Hand lied. "Now then, the reason why I called you all here. We have restored communications. And we will be ready to send you off in your groups tomorrow."

"What about Saki and Isaac?" Ness asked.

Master Hand cringed, he was expecting it, but he was kind of hoping that it was a later question. "We don't know. The communication device was destroyed, however we don't know when. It could have been destroyed while they were under attack while escaping, or it was destroyed more recently. We can't just assume that they are dead."

"So, they are essentially the Schrodinger Smashers." Dr. Mario sighed. "We don't know if they are alive or dead until we open the box."

"Seems that way." Mewtwo said. "Well, we'll find out eventually. Maybe they are trying to communicate with us at this very moment."

"We will be acting under the assumption that they are still alive." Master Hand said. "The groups will be going into the other world to find the ones that I have chosen. If you see them contact us immediately."

"That seems reasonable." Ness said.

However it was quickly evident that a few Smashers were all ready shaken and jumping to the worst possible scenario. Luigi was quite terrified. Master Hand could only just float there. He hoped that in the end, everything would turn out okay, but he sincerely doubted it. He could all ready tell this was something that was going to take a long, long time.

"I just hope we have a lot of coffee for the sleepless nights ahead." Master Hand sighed. He half expected a Smasher to question how he even drank coffee, but that never came.

As the Smashers were preparing, Master Hand just floated back to the communications room, despite the fact that Fox and Falco would be going to the other world, they were working tirelessly at the computers. "You two..." Master Hand said. "You need to prepare."

"Not yet!" Falco said. "We can't go like this."

"Besides, we have everything packed all ready." Fox said. "I had it packed the day we were attacked. Falco too, we've been itching for some action, so we kind of jumped at the call."

"Still, perhaps you should rest."

"No, there is still something we have to do."

Walking into the room was Wolf. He just looked at the two still working away on the computer. "What are you trying to do?" Master Hand asked.

"Well, it's we can't let everyone else go out on a mission like this." Fox said. "We need to raise everyone's morale somehow. If we can find even the slightest bit of proof that they got there safely, everyone will hopefully feel better."

"Do you really think it's just that simple?" Wolf asked.

"Yes!" Fox said. "It's possible."

"You're too much of an optimist Fox." Wolf said.

Fox just ignored Wolf, and continued to type. Until… "I found something!" Fox shouted excited.

Master Hand just immediately flew over to right behind Fox. "What?!"

"It seems that before the device was destroyed, it sent out several messages to us. Including this video." Fox said.

Fox played the video, of Saki, Isaac, Zoroark and Alex fighting Aquamentus. Master Hand just floated there. "So what do you think?" Fox asked.

"I especially loved the cat batting yarn and then falling off of the table." Master Hand said, clenching his fist in anger. "What does it take for you to all remember that I can't see things on TV screens due to a complete lack of eyes!"

"Oh... sorry." Fox said. "But, Saki and Isaac are alive, the machine must have been broken in this battle! This is footage of their battle, and the person that they found fighting Aquamentus."

"I see."

"But why is there a Zoroark there?" Falco said confused.

"A Zoroark?!" Master Hand said confused.

"Yeah it's right there on the screen, fighting with them against Aquamentus."

"And you're not lying or anything, right?" Master Hand asked.

"No, of course not!" Fox said.

Master Hand just placed his hand on the monitor, a few moments later he floated away to a microphone. He pressed some buttons and broadcasted out a message. "Attention everyone, we have video footage, Saki and Isaac are alive!"

Somewhere in the mansion, Ness just let off a sigh of relief. If they were alive, then Lucas must of been too.

* * *

Elsewhere:

"The assault on the Smash Mansion was mostly successful. They had delayed their plans and are only now departing."

"That's good."

"It get's better. The communications systems were heavily damaged, and it seems like they lost their morale for not knowing the well being of their comrades who tried to go over during the invasion."

Laughter broke out. "That's great. But what about Aquamentus?" Hades asked.

There was then silence.

"He was slain."

"What?" Hades said, in shock.

"Aquamentus was slain. Even with the power up afterwards, it seemed like the transfer through the dimensions severely weakened it."

There was silence. Fear was in the air. True Aquamentus was weak when compared to the big guns that they had. All they could think about it though was how badly it was going to end for them.

"And who slayed it? Was it one of those two Smashers?" Hades asked. There was just silence. People were shaking in terror, not wanting to know how he was going to react if he knew the truth. "Well, I'm waiting."

Several just closed their eyes and hoped that someone else would say something.

"Anyone?"

Someone had finally gathered up some courage. "It wasn't the Smashers." They managed to say.

"So, it was someone from that side? Do they have weapons? Was it tanks, how much destruction did Aquamentus cause?" Hades asked.

"He barely caused any destruction, sir." The person said, now fearing for his life.

"Continue..."

"It was a single human. It seems like they were expecting us."

"Was it him? Do we have a visual?"

A monitor appeared, and on it was a picture of Alex. "Oh, it's not him. How disappointing. And at the same time. How exhilarating. That world if it's filled with a bunch of strong and interesting people like that I'll be happy. This might actually be a challenge. But of course, the challenge makes the food that much tastier. Aquamentus was just the beginning..."

* * *

_Peaceful days died._  
_Let's Survive._

_~Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor Overclocked, the COMP "Communication Player", before summoning demons the first time._

* * *

File 1

Do you want to save

YES

Party: Alex, Zoroark, Saki, Isaac.

* * *

**So, more Smashers are crossing over, to help our heroes fighting the others, but are things really that simple?**

**Notes:**

**Actually depending on the version of Devil Survivor. Either the original DS, or the 3DS remake… The saying is different. "Peaceful days are over. Let's survive" in the original and "Peaceful days died. Let's survive" in the remake. I like the died version better, I think it just rolls off the tongue much easier.  
**

**Going forwards, I'll have a quote that the chapter title appears in, or the quote that it comes from.**

**Deep in my mind, I was wondering how Noah wouldn't recognize Lucas as a Smasher. My solution. He doesn't have a Wii, and hence, no Brawl! (In the back of my mind this just raises more questions since… well how can he be a Legend of Zelda fan… maybe he only recently got into the legend of Zelda… I mean on 3DS you can play a good chunk of them… The DS ones, 1 and 2 from the eShop, Minish Cap if you've got an ambassador 3DS... And Ocarina of Time Remake)**

**More of what happened with Nugai, and Alex in the past. **

**Mugen… After that, the super soldiers are being put on the backburner, so I can focus on the Smashers.  
**

**So... yeah introduced San in the last chapter just to kill him in this chapter... Actually should of been the next chapter where he died, but... After the Aquamentus battle the chapter felt way too short... Aquamentus just came across as a warm up boss.**

**I was looking for something Final Bossish in strength... and that's where the whole thought of using Biolizard came from**

**The dimensions of the Biolizard, from Sonic X are 85 meters long, 30 Meters wide, 19.5m tall, and a weight of 87.5 tonnes. I didn't actually know until I began to look it up because I really couldn't remember the battle that well, and the attacks it used... but those pink things are apparently eggs...**

**The next chapter will have a lot more of the Smashers in it.**


	4. Bein' Friends

**Question: ****how did hades come back from the dead?**

**Answer: ****Add a pinch of memories to a ton of souls. Put them in a blender, and hit frappé!**** There was also a lot of hard work and determination. He also had 25 years until the next game, so he figured something out. **

**Okay, enough referencing of Kid Icarus: Uprising. **

**The serious answer and Kid Icarus: Uprising spoilers:**

**I actually really didn't think about it since Kid Icarus: Uprising shows that death is cheaper than in DragonBall Z.**

**It's stated that Pit is instantly revived when he dies. Same with the Centurions.**

**Hades is the God of the Underworld. He used souls to make a body for Medusa, and used souls to create the monsters. During the final battle he was using souls to regenerate any lost limbs, or heal wounds. Even after he was defeated, if you wait after the credits, Hades taunts the player one last time; saying that he will possibly find a way to come back. He also says that he doesn't know if he can be resurrected in that state, but I'd argue that his soul/sprit/whatever is still intact, and since he was reviving Medusa (or rather just making clones), it was still possible, to make a new body and possess it.**

**Or he did what Pandora did and dipped his spirit in the Rewind Spring to get his body back.**

**Now onto prechapter notes: Okay, like I said, way more focus on the Smashers, (or people who will be Smashers/assist trophies) in this chapter… That's mostly true. There's some stuff with the OCs.**

**Personal note that only I would really care about: My laptop died... Or was rather in the process of dying. It was taking forever to start up and do things. It was constantly crashing. I thankfully actually managed to transfer everything onto a USB stick, so I didn't lose everything this time.  
**

* * *

Chapter 4: Bein' Friends

When Alex woke up, the alarm clock was blaring. He looked around his room. He was still tired. "I don't want to go to school." he muttered. The only thing that was really giving him any strength to get out of bed was the fact that it was Friday.

"Master, please you don't really have a choice in the matter." Zoroark said, helping him up.

"I know." Alex sighed.

They went through the morning routine. However partway through it Alex's vision began to get blurry. The room was beginning to spin, and he was swaying back and forth.

"Master, is something wrong?" Zoroark asked.

Alex just looked at his Pokemon. "I'm just dizzy, that's all." Alex said.

"Master, you know you get sick easily. You shouldn't push yourself too hard." Zoroark said.

"I'm just still tired Z." Alex said. "I just need some tea…"

As soon as Alex had some tea he was able to wake up. He looked at Saki and Isaac who were sleeping on his couches.

"Hey, get up." Alex said.

The two opened their eyes. "I've got school." Alex said. "Don't do anything stupid. You don't have to worry about anyone coming here during the day. Also, don't answer the phone, most of the time it's a telemarketer, and if it's someone important, they'll leave a message."

He walked out of the house with Zoroark, and another school day began.

* * *

School was much more exhausting for Alex than it normally was. He just constantly felt like sleeping. He didn't know why. He went to sleep early; he had the tea with caffeine in it. Was yesterday just finally catching up to him?

He placed his head down on the desk, and was constantly struggling to try and stay awake.

"If you're feeling sick, maybe you should just go to the office and go home." The teacher said rather annoyed. Alex just got up and gathered his stuff. He was sweating, his face was pale. As he walked away, it actually looked like he was having difficulty walking.

He pulled out his cell phone and texted Zoroark that they were going home.

He walked out of the school and just stared at the parking lot. "Damn it, I've never felt like this." Alex muttered. To make matters worse, a headache was beginning to form. The bell rang, and Zoroark immediately came to his master's side.

"Sorry about taking so long." He said.

"Its okay." Alex said.

The two of them began to walk towards a bus stop that was away from the school. "Are you stressed? Zoroark asked. "If this is too difficult we can take a break."

"No, I'm fine." Alex replied. "But what a start to the weekend..." They had gotten to the bus stop. It was in front of a mall. Zoroark decided that they better have something to eat and drink. So, he went into the mall and got some food. He returned after five minutes. The two of them just sat down on some benches and waited.

The bus came a few minutes later, and they began the trek home.

When they got back, Saki and Isaac were both rather surprised that the two of them were back so early.

"What's going on?" Isaac asked.

"I came home sick." Alex replied.

He went up to a washroom. He currently felt really cold. He decided to have a shower, and he got out several minutes later, quickly rushing to his room to get a new set of clothes, and then collapsing on his bed. The shower did nothing to warm him up. He just closed his eyes, and tried to relax.

The next thing he knew was that it was Friday evening. Saki, Isaac, and Zoroark were looking down at him, he was also now under the covers, something Zoroark must have done.

"I guess he really hadn't had a fully recovery." Saki sighed.

"Sorry." Alex sighed.

"His body went through so much the past two days." Isaac said. "From the fighting, and how much he used aura. If we weren't used to it, we probably would be in the same situation."

Saki just glanced at Zoroark. "But perhaps what's the most surprising thing is that Zoroark also goes to school here in this world. He fits in seamlessly."

"Yeah, Nugai did that." Alex weakly laughed.

"How?" Isaac wondered.

"No idea." Alex replied. "My guess is he pulled some strings with some friends on the inside or something. He said he did it before."

"He fabricated proof that someone existed before and got them enrolled into school?" Isaac said, rather disbelieving. "I don't know how it works here, but in our world, you just can't do that. Isn't that right Saki?"

"Hey, my kid isn't in school yet, that's next year." Saki replied. "Besides, Airan takes care of that stuff."

"I don't know. Maybe one of his plans for fighting this crisis was making a new identity for himself, so that no one in our family could have been taken a hostage, and it was just an abandoned plan." Alex replied. "He just got Zoroark into school somehow, and I'm grateful for that, it's always nice having him around at a moment's notice."

"I guess that's fair enough." Saki said. "Nugai seems like the kind of person who will have 50 different contingency plans for every single scenario."

Alex just nodded. "Listen guys, I want to get stronger." Alex said, looking at the two of them. "If it's possible..."

"Yeah, it's possible." Saki said.

"I don't want this tragedy to repeat itself..." Alex said. "I can't let anyone else die..."

"With something as large scale as this, that would be hard." Isaac said. "With monsters coming from our universe into your own, death and destruction is inevitable. To be honest, I don't think there is a way we can protect everyone."

Alex just nodded. "Still I want to be stronger." He said. "If the Biolizard was just the beginning, there is going to be a long hard battle ahead…"

"Yeah probably." Saki said. "But right now the best thing you can do is just calm down, and rest to get back your strength."

"Master, for right now you should just relax." Zoroark said. "Well go make some soup for you to eat and get your energy back."

"Thanks Z." Alex smiled.

The three of them walked out of the room, and made their way down into the kitchen. Zoroark began to pour water.

"I hate to be that guy who says it, but is he sick often?" Isaac asked.

Zoroark just nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. I don't know all of the details, but Master doesn't exactly have the strongest of immune systems."

"So, he gets sick easily." Saki sighed. "Just great."

"He was supposedly very sick 5 years ago and he was hospitalized and nearly died." Zoroark said.

The two looked at Zoroark rather shocked.

"Supposedly?"

"I wasn't with him back then." Zoroark replied.

"As it stands right now, the monsters coming over might have bacteria, or there might be diseases from our world that is completely new here, and if he is constantly sick, he will just become a liability." Saki said. "We might have to leave his side and return to the Smashers because of that."

Zoroark was glaring at the two of them. "I won't let you do that." He said.

"And why?" Saki asked, quite clearly frustrated.

"Because, I've never seen Master this happy before." Zoroark replied. "He was lonely, tired, and bored. He doesn't know what he wants' to do in life, and now, this is happening and has given him a purpose."

Saki just snapped. "Are you willing to put lives on the line for this? If he gets sick, and hides it during a battle, people can die, including us and him! But we should just continue on like nothing is wrong because he's happier!?"

Zoroark just looked at the two. "I know it's selfish, I know it's unreasonable, but please. I will make Master promise that won't happen."

"A promise will only go so far." Saki said. "There might be a situation where despite his condition, we have to fight anyways."

"I know." Zoroark said. "If it comes down to it, I can force him off of the battlefield myself."

"Good." Isaac said. "But, I don't think we have to worry about it too much. The other Smashers will be here to help us soon. At least that will lessen the load off of us, and he can take his time to recover between battles. It just won't be constant fights."

Zoroark just nodded.

* * *

The Smashers were departing, each pair were in a different ship. Ness just glanced at Roy, Master Hand's final words weighed heavily on them both.

"Just what the hell is going on?" Roy muttered. His hand was on the sword of seals, gripping it tightly, he was trying to remain calm, but it was quite clear that the swordsman couldn't do it.

Ness just nodded, both confused and afraid. "_I don't know…_" he thought. What Master Hand had said had shaken the majority of the Smashers. Ness just looked up at Roy. "Do you really think that's going to happen?"

"All I know is Master Hand must have a reason for saying it…" Roy replied.

* * *

Earlier:

Since it was confirmed that Saki and Isaac had made it to the other world safely, everyone's spirits in the Smash Mansion had been uplifted. They were told to get some rest and that they would depart the next day, during the evening.

After a night of good sleep, the mansion was much more lively than it had been previously.

Everyone seemed now ready to go to the other world. "I can't wait!" Captain Falcon shouted at the top of his lungs, he was currently sitting at a bar that the Smashers had in their lounge. Despite being at a bar, he wasn't allowed to have alcoholic beverages. "This new world will never know what hit it!"

"I thought our goal was to try and protect this world, not destroy it." Snake joked.

"Well..." Captain Falcon just laughed. "Hey, Captain Olimar, why the long face? You're going to right?"

Captain Olimar was just sitting in a chair, he looked really depressed. "I was told that Greninja requested that he would do this mission alone."

They stared at the little alien in shock.

"What?" Each of them said.

Olimar just nodded. "And Master Hand went along with that wish,"

"Well, he does trust that Pokemon to get the job done..." Snake said. "But why, I thought everything required us to go in groups."

"He's a ninja, the shadows are his friends, he won't be found or beaten that easily." Pikachu said. "Not to mention, he does like being alone."

"I'm a sneaking expert, and he wouldn't let me go alone." Snake replied. "Must be that personal bias for his own bodyguard."

Everyone just nodded. "Still, that's strange." Captain Falcon said. "On a good day you rarely see Greninja away from Master Hand, why would he send him to that world?" The Smashers around the bar could only just nod in agreement.

"The Hand probably has his reasons." Snake said.

"Still, this is a bit confusing..." Captain Falcon replied.

Others around the Smash Mansion were also getting hyped up for going to the other world, or even just as excited that other people would be going. Others were helping prepare.

In the kitchen there were two robots that Master Hand had bought. Mr and Miss Fit, robots that did everything from helping people train, exercise, and consulting people on their diets, to other things such simple yoga classes, and chiropractor. Both of their skin was white like porcolin. Currently they were working across the entire kitchen, making tons of different meals for the Smashers that would be going out on the mission.

"There is a lack of protien in Wario, Ike, Captain Falcon, and Snake's meals." Miss Fit said.

"I will go out and obtain the desired ingrediants." Mr. Fit said, quickly sprinting off to the mall.

Much to Yoshi and Kirby's displeasure, as they were working, the kitchen was off limits, and Miss Fit had no trouble enforcing that rule through force. All ready they tried to sneak into the kitchen to steal some food, however she had quickly hit an exercise ball towards them to keep them out of the kitchen.

Elsewhere, some other Smashers were conversing.

"Wah ha ha!" Wario laughed. "With a mission this important, Master Hand will pay us handsomly!"

Ganondorf just glanced at Wario. "Is that all you care about, money?"

"Of course!" Wario replied. "Money makes the world go round!"

Ganondorf just scoffed. "Sorry, but that's a stupid reason to want to go to the other world. Being a Smasher has all ready given us more money than we know what to do with."

"Says the man who comes from a world where the currency is in gemstones, and can be found in grass. And what about you?!" Wario asked. "Why are you going to the other world?"

"You mean besides I was assigned? And this is our job?" Ganondorf replied. "I don't know."

"Come on, you've got to have one reason why you want to go over there!" Wario said.

Ganondorf just thought about it for several moments. "I guess I want to see how strong some people are over there. If we're teaming up with them they must be strong."

Wario just nodded.

"You Pit?" Ganondorf asked.

"Everything!" Pit replied excited, "It's a whole new world with new and unknown possiblities! There could be people like us that have had adventures even more grand than ours, there could be even scarrier monsters, there could anything!"

Wario just grumbled. "Your optimism is disgusting and annoying."

"I guess it's my fault for asking." Ganondorf chuckled. "Although, I do have one question, you're teamed up with Pikachu, how's he hiding in that world, and how are you hiding your wings?"

"Pokeball." Pit replied.

"Wait really!?" Ganondorf said shocked. Across the Smash Mansion, Pikachu was infamous for his tantrums for going into a pokeball. He flat out refused, when he had to go to a Pokemon Center for a check up. It wasn't pretty. The last time they had to force Pikachu in, well... it required the power of all the Smashers to get him in there for a couple of minutes. "What did Master Hand promise him?"

"Money?" Wario suggested.

"We're not all you Wario." Pit said. "I'd guess it was something else. Or maybe Pikachu just did it because of how severe this is, and how it isn't a veterinarian visit... and who knows it may have Pokemon in that world too, so he might not need to hide."

"And how are you hiding your wings?" Ganondorf asked.

Pit just smiled. "Well, there's some magic that Master Hand insisted that I learn just in case something like this happened." He said. He quickly muttered something and then his wings disappeared.

Elsewhere, Link, Roy, Ike, Marth, and Meta Knight were all sparring with practice swords.

"I wonder if there are worthy opponents on that side." Meta Knight said, blocking an attack from Link.

"I guess there really is only one way to find out!" Link said rather excited.

Roy just smiled as he blocked an attack from Ike. "It's hard to believe that 24 hours ago we were all feeling drained, and not ready for this, but now, I feel like I've got the strength to fight off an army!"

"Is that your dragon blood reacting? Always itching for a fight?" Ike wondered.

"Maybe, but it's just felt so long since something big has last happened!" Roy shouted. "I just can't wait!"

Ness on the other hand was ready to go for a different reason, he wanted to find Lucas. He was positive that Lucas had snuck aboard the ship that Saki and Isaac were on. He wanted to talk it over with Roy, his partner for the upcoming mission that once they got there, he'd like to search for Lucas first. Over the past few days, he hadn't told anyone else about Lucas disappearing. He didn't know if the other Kid Smashers had figured it out. But he just assumed that no one else knew. He was searching for Roy when suddenly he passed Villager.

"Villager!" Ness said. "What's up?"

"Nothing really." Villager replied. "Just sort of walking around the mansion."

Strangely, Villager had been at the mansion the previous few days, Ness didn't know why. But, he had helped a bit with the reconstruction of the Smash Mansion, mainly just rearranged furniture, and he also seemed to have this ability to pack a whole lot into a small box, including possibly a sofa.

A few days ago he had approached and asked why he was here:

* * *

"Villager!" Ness said. "I've been wondering why you're here?"

"Um... well, Master Hand just said that it was a bit too dangerous for me to walk back to my village alone." Villager replied. "He was afraid of another attack or something, and well since I had killed a creature from that army that attacked, he thought that they might see me as a threat and will actually attack me."

Ness just nodded. "Well, now then, I guess I can walk you back."

"That won't be necessary, Ness." Master Hand said suddenly teleporting in. "Sorry, but Villager is staying here for a few more days. I'll personally escort him back myself when I'm sure everything is safe. The town of Smashville will also have several Alloys protecting it. I'll make sure that no one will hurt him."

"Oh, okay." Ness said a bit relieved. "Well, I won't worry about you then while I'm on my mission."

Villager just smiled. The two of them just continued with repairing and doing things in the mansion.

* * *

The two of them were walking through the mansion. Ness just trying to find a room that wasn't occupied so they could chat. Especially since through out all of this, Ness was constantly getting the feeling that Villager wanted to tell him something, but didn't know how to bring it up.

"Villager," Ness began. "How did you stuff a sofa into your pocket?" he awkwardly asked.

Villager just shrugged. "No idea. I've just been always able to do stuff like that."

Ness just laughed. "I guess then, it's kind of like how my PSI is second nature to me. Just something you know, like breathing."

"All though, I think I heard it's called Tanooki Magic." Villager replied. "Um, Ness, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Sure, go for it."

"Do you think I could become a Smasher?" Villger asked.

Ness was a bit shocked. He glanced over at Villager for several seconds, he could tell it was a genuine question. "Yeah, of course you can!" Ness replied.

Villager just smiled. "Thanks." He said. "Although, I'm not sure if I'm one for fighting, but I'm sure I can figure something out. I'm glad I got to meet you guys."

Ness just nodded. "Same. What was your life like before moving to Smashville and becoming the mayor?"

Villager just laughed. "Well you see-" However he was cut off by someone shouting.

"Ness!" Popo said, rushing up to them. "We want to talk to you about something."

Ness just nodded, and he began to follow Popo to the treehouse that the Kid Smashers had made. Sitting there waiting for them was Red, Toon Link, and Nana. Popo took his place on a chair. Villager and Ness also sat down on some other chairs. "So, what did you want talk to me about?" Ness asked.

"It's been a busy past few days, but, have you seen Lucas?" Popo asked, Ness just flinched, deep down he was afraid that he was going to ask this question.

"We haven't seen him at breakfast, lunch or dinner." Toon Link said. "I mean we've all been busy at working and repairing the mansion, so there was always the chance that he was on the other side of the mansion doing stuff, and eating at different times than us, but even then we haven't crossed paths in the halls..."

"You're his best friend, so if he was leaving to see his family, or something I'm sure he would have told you." Red said.

Ness just looked down at the wooden floor. He cringed. This wasn't good. He knew, and now he'd have to spill the beans to everyone. "_Damn it Luke... how am I supposed to tell everyone..._"

"Lucas..." Ness began, looking at all of their faces, and then he chickened out. "He want to see his family, when he saw that he wasn't on the mission list he asked Master Hand if he could go to his home since it was nearing the anniversary of his mother and brother's death..."

"He had a brother?" Toon Link said confused.

"I heard about his mother, but I didn't know he had a brother..." Red added on.

Ness just suddenly went white. "Yeah, I was surprised too, he only told me the night he left." He added on.

"Why didn't he tell anyone else that he was leaving?" Nana wondered.

"Well, obviously, Lucas didn't know we were going to get attacked that night. He thought it would just be any other peaceful day at the Smash Mansion." Ness said.

The kid Smashers bought it, and one by one they left the treehouse. However Villager and Ness just stayed in there. Villager stood up and looked out, to make sure that no one was just hiding down at the bottom of the tree. He then faced Ness.

"As Mayor, I have to say a lot of things." Villager began. "I have to meet a lot of people, and since I'm not psychic like you it was a pain at first. However, I learned to tell what they are thinking, despite their actions, and words. I learned to tell when they were bluffing, and most of the time it was rather easy since they tended to look down at me because in their eyes I'm just a kid."

"Huh?" Ness just looked at Villager confused.

"It's an acquired skill. And I have to say, you are a terrible liar." Villager said.

Ness just looked at Villager in shock. "What do you mean?"

"Lucas didn't return back to his family." Villager said. "He ran away. I'm positive you knew that."

Ness just cringed. "Yes." He said. Villager just nodded. "But, how did you know?"

"I overheard Master Hand and Princess Zelda talking about it. Master Hand said not to tell anyone else." Villager admitted. "I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know if you knew, and I wanted to tell everyone else... But, Master Hand forbade me from saying anything."

Ness just nodded. "You probably want to know why I lied." Villager just nodded. "It's because I don't want any suspicion to fall on Lucas. They would think that he was responsible, and that he sold out the Smashers if they knew that he fled... I know he didn't do that. And it just seemed easier to say that. I know he'll be back, he'll come back to us, ready to help fight, despite the reasons he said in his letter..."

Villager nodded. "Reasons?" He inquired.

"He's afraid. Damn it, we're all afraid!" Ness began to cry. "I didn't lie about his mother and brother being killed. Everyone knew about his mother, when he first came here to the Smashers, he was a wreck. He didn't trust anyone, and wouldn't open up. But grew to see us as a family..."

Villager just looked at Ness a bit shocked. "I never heard about this." He said. "Would it be possible to tell me?"

"You'd be interested?" Ness said a bit shocked. "It's a rather long story."

Villager just nodded. "Please." He said. "It will help pass the time."

Ness just nodded. "Okay…"

* * *

The bus ride to the Smash Mansion was lonely. A blonde boy just looked out the window, and watched as the raindrops would hit the window and then run down it. His name was Lucas. In his hands was a letter that had been addressed to him.

It was decided that he would go here. It wasn't his idea, and he resented that, but everyone seemed to agree that he couldn't be left alone after those unfortunate events.

His mother died from a rampaging Drago. His best friend, his brother, the one person he felt he could tell anything to, ran away and was also probably dead. And then, his father went insane, and didn't care for him. His father was constantly searching the mountains, looking for his wife, and son, refusing to believe that they were dead, and not even thinking about what he still had. The only time Lucas had seen his father after that was when he came to deliver a letter that had been addressed to him.

He just pounded his fist against the back of the seat enraged. "Why?" He muttered to himself.

He knew why. Everyone was sending him away. They didn't want him, and took the first chance that they got to get him out of their hair. It was that letter's fault. It had been agreed that his father couldn't look after Lucas, and Lucas was too young to be left alone by himself. So he was just passed to each and every person in the village as though he was some hot commodity.

His misfortunes didn't end there. After that, the village of Tazmily saw him as a cursed child. Misfortune seemed to come to anyone who got close to him. His friend Fuel, had fallen and broke his arm one day while they were playing in the woods, and then soon stopped coming to see him. Any adults who looked after him, got sick, or were badly injured through what have should have just been called freak accidents. But they all seemed to immediately place the blame on Lucas. He was pushed away, and now the only thing he knew was loneliness.

He constantly told himself that loneliness was his only friend now.

"Nothing will be different here." He said. "They will just send me away too to some other group home, once they realize I'm cursed, and then the cycle will continue..."

Soon the bus stopped.

"We're at your stop." A voice said. It was the bus driver, Lucas didn't move. He just continued looking out the window. He saw a rather large and intimidating building, which he assumed was where he was supposed to go. But, he didn't move, he was telling himself that there was nothing for him there.

"I'm not leaving..." Lucas said. He just sat there for a few minutes until someone came onto the bus. Lucas just continued looking out the window.

"Hello, I'm here to get you." A voice said. Lucas could see the person's reflection in the window. He was wearing grey clothing. He had brown hair and what and the beginning of a beard, which looked more like he hadn't shaved in a few days. "You can call me Dave, or Snake."

"I'm not interested." Lucas said. "I don't want to be here. I just came to tell you that I'm refusing this offer."

The person's smile quickly faded and was replaced with a blank bored expression. "So it looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way. Sorry, but you can't refuse." He sighed, just grabbing Lucas by the waist and lifting him up, slinging the child over his shoulder. Lucas began to kick and scream trying to get the person to drop him, he flailed his arms, however it was failing.

The guy grabbed Lucas' bag that was right beside him, and then walked out of the bus and into the rain. There was another person who was holding an umbrella. It was just a purple wire frame. Snake just threw the bag to the wire frame that caught it. It then tried to pass the umbrella to Snake, however he shook his head.

"Sorry, this brat annoyed me, he's getting wet." Snake replied.

"Hey let me go!" Lucas shouted. "I don't want to be here."

They made their way up to the porch, and Snake finally put Lucas down on the ground when the bus had driven off. Even then, that didn't stop Lucas from trying to run away. However Snake had been prepared for that, and quickly was able to cut him off.

"Welcome to your new home, kid." Snake said, forcing him through the front door.

* * *

Ness was rather nervous. They were getting a newcomer today, and he had been assigned to do orientation with him. He had never done it before, and had practically stayed up all night preparing to show the newcomer anything and everything. "Is that everything?" He asked himself, straightening some cue cards that he had made, to look down at just in case he lost his place, or what he was going to say.

"I think so..." Toon Link said, having grown board of being his guinea pig for the past 10 rehearsals. "Ness, you'll be fine, if you miss anything he'll just learn it quickly. I mean, Link didn't really show me anything, and I just learned how everything worked within a few days."

"I just want his first few days in the Smashers to go as quickly and seamlessly as possible." Ness said.

Toon Link just nodded. He patted his friend on the back. "Well, I know you'll do fine."

Ness looked out the window and just froze. "The bus is here..." He said. "That means he's here... I'm not ready for this!" Any confidence Ness had previously had quickly disappeared. Toon Link just let off a heavy sigh. They watched the bus for a few minutes. "He's not coming out." Ness said. "Was I supposed to get him?"

"No, you weren't..." Toon Link said.

They saw Snake and a wire frame walk outside. The wire frame was holding an umbrella. "Looks like Snake is going to get him." Toon Link said.

Ness just nodded. "Okay, well, let's go to the front door and greet him when he comes in." Ness said.

He watched from the front door's window, and the confidence he had was completely shattered when he saw that the kid was throwing a tantrum, and was being dragged kicking and screaming.

Soon the door was open, and Snake pushed him through the front door looking completely agitated. "LET ME GO!" The kid screamed.

Snake just forced the kid on the ground. Ness had all ready gone through a file folder, which had his information and knew that his name was Lucas. He had been preparing and predicting everything in his head, how he was going to open up with a friendly conversation, and introduce himself. How Lucas would then introduce himself, he'd show him around the mansion, and then they would become super awesome best friends. However now that he saw Lucas in front of him, and Lucas had deviated from the script that he had prepared, he froze.

Lucas just looked frustrated and annoyed at everyone. Snake was blocking the exit, and all of the Smashers who had come to greet him were intimidating him more than necessary. He was also drenched in water. "Ness," Snake said. "You're the one helping him get set in right?"

"Yes." Ness said, snapping back to reality.

"Good luck, I can tell all ready he's going to be a basket case." Snake said.

Lucas just shot Snake daggers, as if to say, "I'm right here you know, I can still hear you." Snake however honestly didn't care.

Ness just walked forwards and extended his hand. "Hello, I'm Ness." Ness said. "What's your name?"

Lucas however just slapped his hand away and looked away. Ness just stared in shock at the boy. "His name is Lucas." Snake said.

"I knew that." Ness replied. "I read through his file. I just thought that he should introduce himself to us."

Lucas just glared at Ness. "Oh what else did my file have?!" He said rather outraged.

Ness just held out a folder, that Lucas just immediately knocked to the ground. The contents of it open for the whole world to see. It really had nothing in it, just a picture of Lucas followed by his name, age, date of birth, the village he came from, and then it had a note regarding his family.

Mother: Deceased

Father: Incapable of watching over him.

Ness didn't know how to react. Lucas was angry; no other Smasher had ever come to the Smash Mansion like this. Ness just stretched out his hand. "Listen, I know change can be scary, but I want to be your friend and help you through this."

Lucas once again slapped away his hand. "Piss off." Lucas replied, his voice dripping with venom. "I don't want to be your friend."

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, maybe it was just all the pressure, but whatever the reason, Ness snapped. "Listen." Ness said, as he bent down to pick up the folder. "I've had enough of your crap." He shot up and looked at Lucas right in the eyes, doing his best to intimidate him. "I've been up all night practicing what I was supposed to do, show you around, introduce you to everyone, it was going to be nice and perfect. And it turns out you're just a whiny brat! Do even know why you're here!?" He grabbed Lucas' shirt, and pushed him into the wall.

"What does it matter why I'm here?! I don't want to be here." Lucas snapped.

"Well, you're a Smasher now." Ness snapped.

"Is that just some fancy term for foster child?!" Lucas snapped back.

And then, Ness just froze. He let go of Lucas' shirt and just stared at Lucas dumbstruck. "What?!"

"That's why I'm here, aren't I? No one wanted me back at Tazmily Village, so I'm here!" Lucas snapped. "Just some foster child sent around from family to family. Not actually wanted. Just like you!"

Ness just looked at Lucas both confused and somewhat relieved. "Oh, that's it." Ness laughed, backing up. "This is just a huge misunderstanding." He just slipped beside Lucas, and just wrapped his arm around his neck. "Well, if you think its like that, you can call me your big brother Ness!"

Ness however was elbowed in the stomach, winding him, and causing him to fall to the ground. Lucas just looked down at him rather frustrated. "You're not my brother!" He snapped. "Don't you ever say that again."

* * *

Villager was looking at Ness in shock. "Wow?! Is this really the same Lucas!?" He said.

Ness just nodded. "Yeah, he really can hurt you. Although, knowing that his brother is now dead, I guess that kind of was a stupid thing to say."

"Yeah." Villager said.

Ness just sighed. "Okay… now then let's see…"

* * *

Toon Link rushed for Lucas, actually ready to punch the kid. A few of the adult Smashers were actually holding him back. "Toon, stop!" Ness said, gasping for air. "I'll take care of this, just please, leave it to me."

"Are you sure Ness?" Toon Link said. "The next time he hurts you, you won't be stopping me. That goes the same for everyone else." He said shooting a glare at Link, who had been holding him.

"Please…" Ness said.

Most of the Smashers left. After several moments Ness got up off of the ground. He was still gasping for air. Lucas continued to stare at Ness. "Look… Lucas… you're here now. Let me show you up to your room."

Perhaps, Lucas accepted that him being here was now inevitable. No one was going to let him leave, and Lucas just figured that they will soon all meet his curse, and then push him away. He might as well just go through the motions. Or he was just getting away from everyone and taking the first chance to escape through a window or something.

Ness just took Lucas' bag, and began to walk. Lucas followed several feet behind. Eventually they got to the room, and Ness just turned around and smiled. He opened the door. "Welcome to our room."

Lucas just immediately turned around, to run away, however Ness just grabbed him by the wrist. "Stop, Lucas, stop!" Ness said.

"No, I'm not sharing a room!" Lucas replied as he glared at Ness and tried to break free of his grip. However Ness had been prepared, and strengthened his grip. Lucas tried to attack him. But Ness was also prepared for that and had used one of his PSI moves, Shield Beta to protect himself.

"Please, come into the room." Ness said. "I can explain everything in there."

"No! You don't want to be near me, I'm cursed." Lucas replied, absolutely terrified. Perhaps as if in cue, a nearby vase fell and shattered. Ness just looked at it shocked, while Lucas tried to break free, but to no avail.

"A curse, eh?" Ness laughed. "Well, I'll take my chances with that curse."

He stretched out his other hand and the shattered pieces of the vase began to float up and repair itself. Lucas just stood completely memorized.

"There is a lot to learn." Ness said, letting go of Lucas' wrist. "Come with me."

Shocked Lucas followed Ness into their room.

"What if I don't want to be here?" Lucas asked.

"You do though." Ness replied. "You entered into this room of your own free will, besides, I can see something in your eyes."

"And just what do you see in my eyes?"

"Loneliness." Ness replied. "A lack of light. For a few seconds, there was a spark in your eyes when you saw the vase being repaired. You want to know what I did."

Lucas just nodded. "And, what was that?"

"PSI, Psionics or PK Psychokinesis." Ness replied. "I'm a psychic. And well, I'm also a Smasher" It was there that Ness explained what the Smashers actually were. "We're not a group home like you believed. We're a batch of fighters who have banded together to protect our worlds. Everyone here is a hero, a fighter, or adventurer. We are all strong."

"Why am I here then?" Lucas asked. "I'm not a hero, a fighter, or an adventurer, I'm weak."

"I don't think so. I should know, I mean, I got hit by your elbow." Ness laughed. "But, if I had to guess, from the destruction of that vase, you must also have psychic abilities, but you can't control them. Master Hand brought you here for a reason, and I think that may be it. You're going to learn how to control your power. This so called curse of yours."

Lucas just looked a bit shocked at Ness.

"Listen, I know we started off on a bad foot, but I'm Ness." Ness said stretching out his hand.

Lucas just looked at it and slowly reached towards it. Upon contact there was a spark of static electricity that surprised both of them. A few seconds later Lucas just laughed.

"There, that look suits you better." Ness said. "You should be happy. I didn't like it when you were scowling, you were kind of scary."

Lucas just looked at Ness shocked.

"Listen, I promise that no one will abandon you here." Ness said.

Lucas just nodded. "Um… you said that you had PSI, does that mean you can read minds?"

"Yeah, I've got telepathy too." Ness said. Lucas suddenly looked horrified. "But don't worry, I haven't used it on you."

There was just a large amount of relief across Lucas' face. "Why?" Lucas asked.

"Well, if I used it on you, with the way you've been acting, and if you found out… I'd imagine it wouldn't be pleasant for me." Ness nervously laughed. "Besides, I'd rather you tell me stuff than reading your mind. I'd trust you, or any of the other Smashers to tell me anything under normal circumstances. But it seems that you weren't exactly under normal circumstances."

Lucas just nodded.

"All I know about you is your name, and that your mother is gone." Ness said. "I swear. That's all anyone knows."

Lucas just nodded. "Okay, thanks."

"Please, open up at your own pace." Ness said. "We'll all let you have your privacy. What you want us to know, you can tell us."

Lucas nodded. Yet at the same time, Ness could tell that he was still rather pained. "And… I'm sorry about elbowing you…" Lucas said.

"Don't worry about it. That's in the past!" Ness smiled. "Now then… Let's pack your stuff away, and then I can give you a tour of the place."

Lucas just nodded in agreement, and they began to do their tour, and Lucas began to adjust to his life as a Smasher.

They soon found out that Ness was right, and that Lucas had latent psychic powers. The reason people were getting hurt around him, it was because of his psychic powers affecting them, or the surroundings. Even though he meant no ill will towards them, they just swelled with his emotions. And being a pubescent boy, who just lost his mother, and brother, along with constantly being tossed around, and feeling unwanted, his emotions were all over the place.

Ness, and Mewtwo were doing their best to teach Lucas how to control his psychic powers. Slowly, Lucas was getting more and more adjusted to the Smash Mansion, and growing friendlier with everyone. Or at least trying to. As soon as he stopped lashing out at everyone, and realized what he had done for his introduction, he was suddenly terrified.

For the first week it seemed like the only person Lucas actually talked to was Ness. He was just always right beside him, giving the impression of a little lost puppy. If they were ever more than a few feet apart, Lucas would begin to tense up, and get scared of the new unfamiliar surroundings. For the most part, Ness didn't mind it. The only part that was really annoying was that Ness couldn't even go to the washroom without Lucas becoming a nervous wreck for the few seconds he was gone. There was also the other Smasher's reactions to them.

"Aren't they adorable?" Princess Peach said. "They became such fast friends."

Ness thought that Lucas just latched onto Ness because they were so similar, and perhaps Ness had reminded Lucas of someone back at his village. Ness also believed that this was the real Lucas; he was shy, and afraid around new people. He was skittish, jumping whenever he turned the corner and found Ganondorf or Wario was standing there. They never said anything to him, but Ness imagined that it was because of some of the latent PSI, Lucas was probably sensing, or reading their rather dark thoughts with a weak telekinesis, giving the impression that they were unhappy and unapproachable.

The two walked into a room, the only other person there was Toon Link who was sitting on a chair, and watching TV.

There was still a bit of initial awkwardness around Toon Link, who was still mad that Lucas had attacked Ness.

"Hey, Toon." Ness said walking towards him.

Toon Link just looked up from the TV and stared at Ness and Lucas. "Has he hit you anywhere else?!" Toon Link asked, cracking his knuckles in the process.

"Toon, that was an accident." Ness sighed. "He didn't know what was going on, and was confused and scared. He's apologized for that, so you don't have to worry."

"Uh huh…" Toon Link said, he was constantly glaring at Lucas.

"Just lay off of him, okay?!" Ness said.

"Fine." Toon Link said, "however, if he hurts you again, he's going to get it... Although, maybe if he does some of my chores, I may forget."

"Toon!" Ness snapped. He just turned to Lucas and let off a heavy sigh. "That's Toon Link. We call him Toon, Toony, or Link. There's another Link here, so that's why we have the Toon in front of his name. "

"That seems a bit confusing." Lucas said.

"Eh, well just be thankful Young isn't here anymore." Ness laughed.

"Young?" Lucas said confused.

Ness just laughed. "Don't worry about it." He said. "Anyways, don't let him push his chores onto you, okay! If he does, just come right to me."

"Okay." Lucas replied.

"Of course, you still have to do your own chores." Ness said.

Lucas just nodded.

What Ness found the most surprising about Lucas' adjustment into the Smashers was that he never complained about doing chores. And, that Lucas actually had a bit of muscle to him. He learned that Lucas actually used to live on a farm, and had to help take care of the animals that were there, before his mother died. So he was used to doing chores, and heavy lifting and stuff.

He was also a rather good cook too.

One day, they began to show Lucas around their secret areas. Around the mansion there were a lot of small nooks and crannies that only the kid Smashers could get into, they also showed him a bunch of secret passages. And then they decided to take Lucas outside. Because of his outburst when he first came here, to make sure that he wouldn't run away he was restricted to inside the mansion, or under extreme supervision if he went outside.

"And welcome to our tree house!" Ness said. Sitting around the room was Toon Link, Red, Popo and Nana. "This is where we come and hang out sometimes. Just a spot for us kids."

Lucas just looked around a bit mystified. It was much bigger than it looked on the outside.

"We're planning on sleeping here tonight." Ness said. "Or at least the boys are, why don't you join us?"

Lucas just nodded. "Okay." He muttered.

At night time, they returned, each carrying their own blankets and pillows. They helped each other up to the tree house, and began to eat some junk food that they had smuggled out of the kitchen before anyone had noticed.

Slowly Lucas was beginning to find that he was fitting in more. He was beginning to laugh, and beginning to grow more accustomed to everyone. Since he was learning how to control his PSI no accidents seemed to occur, beyond the odd intentional prank of causing someone to trip over their own two feet. Slowly he began to see everyone as a giant family. The only signs that he had any issues were at night when he seemed to cry, and constantly toss and turn in his sleep. Ness thought that they were slowly making progress.

And then one day it just hit him, how viewing these people as family members was a mistake, and how much pain he would no doubt be in if he continued this. He was in the middle of his lessons with Mewtwo, working on trying to control his psychic abilities. The spoon that he had been using as a medium, and had been floating and bending, suddenly fell down and hit the floor. Lucas just looked at Mewtwo afraid. Mewtwo just floated there a bit shocked, unsure of what had actually just happened.

"You can retry the exercise." Mewtwo said, trying to be encouraging.

Lucas stretched out his hand, and tried to focus on the spoon once again, however nothing actually happened. He just shook and began to panic, in his mind he had remembered his mother dieing in front of him.

He just ran out of the room, far to fast for Mewtwo to do anything. He ran and hid somewhere in the mansion.

"Mewtwo!?" Ness said shocked. "What just happened to Lucas?"

"I don't know." Mewtwo replied. "I can't even find him, his mind suddenly became super clouded. Just all of a sudden it became like static."

Ness just nodded. When reading minds he had come across those who's minds were like a sea of static. Like a TV, you could occasionally make out something but it was covered by static. It was seen in people who were incredibly stressed, going through hard times and other things. "I'll look for him." Ness managed to say.

Ness just ran through the mansion, looking for Lucas. Eventually he found Lucas in the kid Smasher's tree house. Lucas was just curled up into a little ball, and crying.

Ness just slid down right beside him. "You okay?" Ness asked. It was a stupid question, but he didn't know what else to ask.

"No." Lucas muttered.

Ness just wrapped his arm around Lucas, and brought him close, trying to comfort him. "It's all right Lucas, it's all right." He just repeated, as he patted him on the back. "Let it all out, I'm here, you can cry and tell me anything." In the back of his head, he was afraid if one of the other Smashers came up the tree house ladder and saw them like this, he felt that it could probably be used for blackmail material. Especially if it was Nana. If she saw it, her inner Yaoi fangirl would misinterpret it so badly...

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Lucas asked.

"We're friends right?" Ness said.

Lucas just froze. It was clear to Ness that despite how close they had gotten, and how much more open Lucas had been, Lucas had never considered him a friend, just another person who was trying to feign interest in him, and would discard him soon. Lucas was only trying to protect himself from what he was used to, the eventual betrayal and saying goodbye.

"You never thought of us as friends, did you?" Ness said.

"Sorry." Lucas managed to say.

Ness just let off a sigh, and leaned against Lucas' head. "You idiot." He said. "We're Smashers' we're here for you. We're family."

"That's the problem. I don't have a family." Lucas said. "Everyone's gone!"

"The file said your mother was deceased." Ness said. "What happened?"

Lucas just went quiet.

Ness understood, of course Lucas wouldn't want to talk about something like that, especially to Ness. To him, Ness was just some stranger, constantly trying to push himself into his life. "You can tell me." Ness said. "It's better to get these things off of your chest."

"Why?" Lucas asked.

"It's clear to me that you're suffering." Ness said. "Everyone can see it, they don't need to be psychic. Please, trust us, let us in."

"If I do that…" Lucas muttered. "I'll just feel that pain again."

Ness just began to pat Lucas on the back. "It's okay. We're here for you. Everyone's concerned."

"Even Bowser, Wario, and Ganondorf?"

"Well, maybe not them." Ness sighed. "But, we want to help, we're afraid that you're going to do something to hurt yourself. We… I liked it better when you were smiling with us, and joking and… I want you to be happy. So, please, at least tell me. I promise it will feel better after you say it. I won't think anything less of you for it."

"You promise?" Lucas said.

"Yes." Ness replied.

Lucas just nodded, and the two sat there in silence. Ness just smiled. "Whenever you're ready." Ness said.

A few times Lucas opened his mouth as if to talk, but immediately closed it. Ness could tell whatever Lucas was trying to say was hard on him. He could have read his mind, but this was definitely something that Lucas had to do himself. He had to step out with his own strength and say it to grow stronger.

"My mother was killed by a Drago." Lucas eventually said. "A giant green dinosaur like creature…"

Ness just nodded. "It must have been tough…"

"I saw it happen." Lucas said. "She made sure that we could escape."

Ness was in shock. "I had no idea."

Lucas just weakly nodded. "Yeah…"

"Ness." Lucas muttered

"What?" Ness asked.

"Please, don't let go of me. Just stay with me for a while. Just hold me." Lucas said. "You're so warm…"

Ness actually was a bit shocked. Lucas was freezing. "Lucas, you're cold." He said. "We have to get you inside, and see Dr. Mario."

But Lucas had all ready fallen asleep. Ness let off a sigh, and just telepathically moved some blankets that they had in the tree house in case someone wanted to stay in the tree house for awhile, or found themselves cold for whatever reason. Ness just draped the blankets over the two of them, and soon found himself falling asleep.

They woke up later, both unsure how much time had actually passed. Ness looked around nervously, afraid if anyone had come up and seen them and gotten the wrong idea. "Are you feeling better?" Ness asked.

Lucas just nodded.

"Good." Ness smiled, beginning to stand up and make his way back to the tree house's door. "Now then, why don't we go back to the mansion?"

"Ness wait…" Lucas said.

Ness just turned back to look at Lucas.

"Ness, just promise me, you'll always be there for me." Lucas muttered.

"Yeah of course." Ness said.

* * *

"After all that though, he ran away." Ness said.

"He didn't want to feel that loss again." Villager said. "I imagine it was a scary thought to someone like him. He didn't want to lose anyone again, or see people die again. As best as he tried to hide it, he couldn't."

Ness just nodded. "He thinks everyone would hate him if they found out he ran away... That's why I can't let them know. I know he'll come back, and I want everyone to just act like nothing happened. That's the way it should be."

Villager just stared at Ness. "As mayor, sometimes I also have to be a mediator between two feuding villagers... I understand where you're coming from." He said. "But, at the same time, I think you're rather guilty of not trusting the Smashers. They will understand his circumstances, right? You all seem like great friends."

Ness nodded. "True." He said.

"And isn't it more dangerous to be lying about this?" Villager asked. "If Master Hand announces it to the other Smashers, they could mistrust you about this, and wouldn't this cast suspicion on you?"

Ness just nodded. "But, I'm willing to take that blame. Lucas is innocent."

"All right, why don't we go see Master Hand." Villager suggested.

Ness just nodded his head, and the two set out to find the glove. They eventually found him in his office. He was just sitting behind his desk, currently trying to relax. "Ness, Villager, welcome." He said. "What brings you here?"

Ness just closed the door and faced Master Hand. "Master Hand, this is about Lucas."

"That he has run away, right?" Master Hand said.

"Yes." Ness replied. "Can you keep this a secret between us and Zelda?"

Master Hand just floated behind his desk. "Ness, I'm aware of all that happens in the mansion. Sometimes things have to be revealed, and I feel that this is one of those things."

"When I go over to the other world, I want to try and find Lucas." Ness said. "I'm sure he will come back to the Smashers!"

"And if he doesn't ever return? Is it okay for the rest of the Kid Smashers to believe that he's just staying at his island, without ever saying a goodbye?" Master Hand said. "But, fine, Ness I won't reveal to anyone else that he ran away. I'll trust that you will somehow be able to convince him to return back to the Smashers."

Ness just nodded. "Okay! I promise I'll bring him back!"

"And what if he doesn't want to come back?" Master Hand asked.

Ness just stood there a bit shocked. "At the very least, I'll drag him back just so he can say a proper goodbye!" Ness replied.

Master Hand just floated there, as far as Ness could tell, the glove at least seemed satisfied with that answer. "Now then, Ness, I've got the four alloys ready to protect Smashville, I said that I would escort Villager personally, but there are a few things that came up, so I want you to escort Villager back to Smashville." Master Hand said.

Ness just nodded.

"Just be back before dusk, when everyone is set to go off. If you don't get back here, someone will replace you on your mission." Master Hand said.

"Of course!" Ness replied.

Ness and Villager walked out of the office, and to the spare room that Villager had been staying in. He just gathered his stuff and they quickly departed. The alloys followed them down the road. Within 10 minutes they had reached Smashville. There were a few people out and about. One was a girl wearing a pink dress with a flower on it, she also had pink hair. "Mr. Mayor." She said, rushing up to Villager and Ness. "Is he someone else who is moving into our town?"

"No, Kelli." Villager laughed. "he's just a friend from the Smashers, he was escorting me back. They also are letting us use four alloys to protect the town in case another army of monsters comes."

She seemed overjoyed by the news. "Great! Should I round up the other people and tell them about this?"

"No," Villager said. "I'll go down and tell them all myself."

"Okay." Kelli said.

"Want the tour?" Villager laughed.

"Sure." Ness said.

"Well first thing, I need to stop by Town hall." Villager said. They made their way to the town hall, a white building with a clock on the top. Villager just walked right in and Ness followed. Sitting at a desk, doing a bunch of paperwork was an anthropomorphic yellow dog. She just looked up to see Villager and Ness entering into the room, and then stopped everything she was doing.

"Mayor!" She said, suddenly rushing to them. "You're okay! I was afraid that the monsters that attacked had taken or killed you!"

"I'm fine Isabelle" Villager replied. "I had gone to see the Smashers about the monsters."

"Everyone was worried!" She said. "Next time you go away you have to tell us!"

Villager just nervously laughed. "Yes, of course, Isabelle."

Her eyes were then fixed on Ness. "And this is? You know we can't have anyone else in the town. There's no space."

Villager just nodded. "I know, he's just a friend from the Smashers!" He said. "Now, come on Ness, I'll show you around town."

Ness just agreed and they began to go around town. "This was the tree that I planted as my first mayor duty." Villager said, pointing to a tree. "And… Ah there's Jeff!"

Watering some flowers was a boy with brown pointed hair, and a yellow shirt with black stripes. On the front of the shirt was a 6 in a white ball. "Jeff!"

"Villager!" He said, walking towards them. "Who's this?!"

"This is Ness, he's a Smasher!" Villager said. "He just came to escort me back here to Smashville."

Jeff just smiled. "Well, I'm Jeff." He said, extending his hand.

"It's nice to meet you." Ness said.

Jeff nodded. "Likewise." He said.

"Okay, let me show you the other people!" Villager said. They walked through the town until they came across someone else who was sitting by the river. He was wearing a blue tiedye shirt. "That's Rob." Villager said. "All he does is fish."

Ness just nodded.

"Rob!" Villager shouted out.

Rob just turned to look at Villager and Ness. "You guys will scare the fish away." He said. Now that Ness could see his eyes, Ness couldn't help but think that Rob was on something.

"Right." Villager laughed. "Come on Ness!"

They walked further untill seeing a girl, who was wearing a dress that had the exact same stripes as Ness' shirt. Ness just looked a bit shocked. She had her hair up in a pony tail. "Mr. Mayor, you're back." She said.

"Yes." Villager said.

"And who's this cutie." She wondered, looking at Ness. Ness suddenly just felt uncomfortable. "I like your shirt."

"This is Ness." Villager replied. "Ness, this is Leslie."

"You have great taste." Leslie said. "No one else seems to get the appeal of stripes."

Ness just nervously laughed. "Yeah, my mother bought me it, and everyone loved it…"

"Do you want to go out on a date, and then maybe we can get married, and have tons of cute little children together…"

"Um… er…"

Villager could see that Ness was rather uncomfortable around Leslie and just began to pull him away. "Sorry, Leslie, but I'm still showing Ness around town and I have to introduce him to Steve, Laura, and Patty." With that they walked away. They continued until they saw someone walking around. It was a boy wearing a solid purple shirt with the number 4 on it. "Ness," Villager said. "This is Steve. Steve, this is Ness."

"Hey!" Steve said.

"Hello." Ness said.

"Well then, there are two more people here in Smashville." Villager said. "Let's see if we can find them. Steve, have you seen Laura and Patty?"

"They're taking care of their flowers." Steve replied.

Villager just nodded. "Well thank you!"

Villager just led the way, soon they came to a spot that was covered with flowers, and a pathway through them. In it was two girls. The first was wearing a green dress. "That's Laura." Villager said pointing to her. The other girl was wearing a yellowish green tiedye dress. "And that's Patty."

Ness just nodded.

"Unfortunately, they're tending to the flowers. They don't like being interrupted during that, so I won't introduce you to them personally. Maybe next time you're in Smashville I can actually introduce you to them." Villager laughed. "So, that's the town that I'm the mayor of."

"Thanks for showing me around." Ness said. "When I get Lucas back, I'll come here with him and we can do something."

Villager just nodded. "I'm sure he'd like that, It'd probably be a good change of pace from wherever he is currently."

Ness just nodded. "You're right Villager, he's in some unknown world, fending for himself. Lucas has to be scared to death."

* * *

Lucas was bored to death. He had walked out of the cave, and was looking around the forest, hoping that there would be something to do. But there really wasn't. He let off a sigh and made his way back to the cave, he had been gone a few hours, exploring as much of the forest as he could, making sure not to actually meet with anyone else.

However, when he got to the cave, he heard someone crying in it. He just looked in and saw Noah. "Noah?"

"Lucas!" Noah said shocked. "Where have you been?"

"I just went out for a walk, the cave gets a little boring at times." Lucas replied, sitting down beside him.

Noah just nodded. "I guess that's true. There is really nothing to do here." There was something about his tone, that seemed off that Lucas was able to catch.

"Whats wrong?" Lucas asked, concerned.

Noah just looked at Lucas in shock. "Nothing!" He clearly lied.

Lucas just stared blankly at him. "There's no use hiding it from me. I'm psychic."

"Yeah right." Noah replied back.

"A friend once told me that it's just better to get it off of your chest, and tell someone what's wrong." Lucas said. "And it's always helped for me. So why don't you try telling me."

"You won't believe me." Noah replied. "You'll just make fun of me."

Lucas shook his head. "I'll believe you. Just tell me."

Noah looked a bit distressed and afraid. "Promise."

"Promise."

"Yesterday, there was this giant monster that appeared..." Noah said. "It, destroyed a shopping mall and made a huge mess of everything. But when I went to school, expecting everyone to talk about it. They weren't."

Lucas just looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's like everyone else forgot about it..." Noah replied. "Any time I said anything to anybody, they just looked at me like I was crazy, they said there was never anything there. It was just always undeveloped land... I expected there to even be things in the newspaper, but there wasn't. No one even seems to remember the monster that appeared."

Lucas just continued to stare at the boy.

"I mean, you've got to remember Springtime mall, right?" Noah said frustrated.

Lucas didn't know what to do, Noah was still assuming that he was from this world. The only thing he could do in this situation was just try and avoid the subject, and hope Noah didn't notice. "You said there was this giant monster? Could you possibly explain what it looked like."

"Have you ever played Sonic Adventure 2?" Noah asked.

Lucas just thought about it for several seconds. _"Sonic, he was always bragging about his adventures, he didn't let us kid Smashers ever get away from not knowing about one of his many adventures..._" He thought, eventually he turned to Noah and decided to bluff his way through it. "I think so. Which one was that again?"

"The one with the spaceship."

"The Deathegg?"

"No that's Sonic 2. It was the one with Shadow in it."

"Ah, the Space Colony ARK!" Lucas said.

"Well, that monster that appeared, was the Biolizard..." Noah said.

"_A monster like that appeared here in this world?_" Lucas thought. "_Master Hand did say that our worlds were slowly merging together..._"

"People were just dismissing me saying that I have an active imagination, and was seeking attention. My dad, told me to grow up, and stop making stuff up." Noah said, Lucas noticed that upon the mention of his father, Noah had cringed, and his grip seemed to tighten. "But you believe me, right, Lucas?"

Lucas just looked at Noah, and began to probe his mind. He saw that he was there, having ridden a bike to go to the mall to get something, but, stopped when he saw the Biolizard there, and then the Biolizard was fighting against two people. Saki and Isaac. "I believe you." Lucas said.

Noah just looked at the ground, a bit afraid. "It's just, I don't know what's going on anymore." He said. "That's a video game character... by all reasons it shouldn't exist..."

Lucas debated for a few seconds about telling him that he knew him as a video game character. But stopped, because he was afraid of the questions that might ensue. "So, what happened to the monster?" Lucas eventually asked.

Noah just froze.

* * *

"Get the hell out of here kid!"

* * *

"I assume it was beaten by the people who were fighting it." Noah replied. "They told me to run, and I got away, but I returned later, and everything was abandoned..."

"People were fighting it?" Lucas said. "That's got to be scary..."

"They looked completely normal." Noah said. "I don't know how they were able to fight that thing."

Deep down, Lucas was berating himself it was as stupid idea to run away to this world. It was on the verge of a crisis, same with the rest of his world, there was nowhere that was safe in either of the two worlds, no… dimensions. He just let off a sigh. "_Why did I run away._" He thought. "_Everyone probably knows the truth by now... they probably all hate me, and the won't be willing to accept me back._"

"Still with all of the destruction, and I'm sure a few casualties," Noah said, his sudden talking snapped Lucas back to reality. "I was positive some people would remember this. But there is no way that a bunch of people would just forget that. Just what's going on?"

"When you think about it, it's a simple hypnotism." Lucas replied without thinking. "They erase everyone's memories of the event, and the people involved."

Noah just stared at Lucas in shock, however Lucas didn't know, as he was currently just drawing on the ground with a stick, and not actually looking up. "But, how is it possible on such a large scale?" Noah asked. "A shopping mall was destroyed. People have got to remember it..."

"That, I don't know. It was never really explained to me, just that people will forget." Lucas said. "People really are forgetful creatures, don't you think? You could have a conversation with someone, and not even remember their name, I imagine it's just like an extension of that..."

"Lucas, what are you talking about?" Noah said confused.

Lucas snapped back to reality, he looked up at Noah and realized that he had just said way too much. "Um, well... Someone I once met said to me 'that we can forget happy things. We can forget sad things too. People have the power to forget.' and I think it's like that."

"Never mind." Noah said.

The two of them just sat in the cave in silence for a while. Lucas occasionally glanced up to just see Noah deep in thought. Lucas would occasionally think to say something, and tried to speak up, but it was quickly drowned in fear. Eventually, Noah got up. "I'm going to leave..." He said.

"Ah, okay." Lucas replied.

"I'll see you tomorrow, I guess." Noah laughed. "I wonder if I'll be having any other strange dreams... Wait, actually it's the weekend... If you'd like, you could spend the night at my place. My father won't be home..."

Lucas thought about it for a few seconds. "No." He eventually said.

Noah just nodded. Lucas just watched as Noah walked away. "Noah, wait." Lucas shouted out. He glanced back at the Smasher. "The world isn't like you think it is..."

Noah just nodded, "Yeah, it's cruel, and dark and scary." he replied, before walking off.

Lucas just looked out at the forest, eventually he decided to walk out. "If I can find the ship, and Saki and Isaac, maybe they will take me back to the Smashers..." He thought.

He began to walk through the forest, however he was unable to find the ship. Eventually as it began to get dark, he returned back to the cave.

* * *

Back at Smashville, Ness was just waving goodbye to Villager. "I'll see you soon!" he shouted.

Villager just nodded. "Bye Ness! Good luck! See you soon!" And Ness turned around. "Wait, actually, before you go, I do have one more question."

Ness just glanced back at Villager rather confused. "Okay, I'll do my best to answer it." He laughed.

"In your story, you mentioned someone named Young?" Villager said.

"Oh, Young Link." Ness replied. "He was another Link, he left to go on another adventure, and Toon Link came and I guess sort of replaced him. We tried to stay in contact, but I haven't heard anything from him in a long time."

"Okay." Villager said. "That's all, then."

"See ya!"

And like that, Ness was off, rushing back to the Smash Mansion. Villager just let off a sigh, he had asked about Young, because of a frequent visitor to his town named Gulliver. A seagull, who traveled the world. Villager always enjoyed listening to the tales of Gulliver's travels at the Roost, over a cup of coffee. He'd talk about the Mushroom Kingdom, Isle Delfino, or even Hyrule. There was one tale that was now sticking out in Villager's mind. How Gulliver had seen someone fighting sea snakes at a place called Pinnacle Rock. A boy in green, that had the ability to transform. He thought that it was this Young Link, that Ness had been talking about.

Villager just shrugged it off. "Oh well, whatever." He laughed. He then looked at the four alloys that Master Hand had given them. The first was a red one. A rather large masculine body, and large shoulder pads. The next was a blue one, a tall femine body with a metalic pony tail. The third was a yellow one, a short stocky with two horns, it kind of reminded Villager of that one hat he had in one of his drawers. And finally a large green ball one, that had a metal mohawk.

"Thank you so much for standing guard for Smashville!" Villager said.

They didn't respond.

He made his way back to his house. When he got there, he noticed that his mailbox was full. He just let off a heavy sigh and got all of the mail out and went into his house, putting it across the table, slowly sorting it. "Fliers… fliers… bills... more bills..."

He soon found a letter from his mother.

_My dear Villager,_

_Guess what!? I have great news! We've decided to give you your inheritance early! You're rich! HA! April Fool's Day, dear! No bells for you!_

_Were you fooled? Love Mom._

Villager just cringed. "You did the same joke last year mom." He muttered, but couldn't help himself from just smiling. There was still something comforting about it. Although, he kind of did wish that he actually got his inheritance early, since he still had to pay off his house. And his pay as mayor was less than satisfactory...

As he continued to go through the letters, nothing was really popping out until he came across a single white envelope with a red wax seal, in the shape of an all too familiar circle with an offset cross. He just opened it up.

He was expecting a letter saying that he was accepted into the Smashers, that his bravery in the face of the monsters had proven himself to them, and that he started effective immediately!

What he got however…

_Villager,_

_I would like to thank you for bringing the Monoeye to us, however I would like to remind you that you're just a normal human being. You don't have special powers or abilities like the other kid Smashers, and I'd imagine that they would be devastated if they soon found out that their friend was hurt or killed fighting something._

_When this is all over you can still come over to the mansion, but in the mean time, the alloys will protect Smashville. They will also stop you from coming over to the Mansion. I'm sorry that I didn't mention this sooner, but I'd imagine that you wouldn't have taken the alloys. I'd also much rather prefer it this way, in the event that the mansion is attacked again, you won't get caught in the crossfire._

_Sincerely,_

_Master Hand._

Villager just looked at the letter in shock. "No way…" He muttered, now realizing that he was a prisoner in his own town. He pounded his fist against the table. "But I'm not just a normal human… my Tanooki magic..."

* * *

Ness was running on the path from Smashville to the Smash Mansion. It was beginning to get dark. When he got to the Smash Mansion, he found Master Hand waiting out by the front door for him. "Ness," he said. "Everyone else is getting ready to depart."

Ness just nodded. "I'm ready too."

"Good." Master Hand said. "Go gather a few change of clothes, and then come down for the briefing."

"Right!" Ness said.

He rushed up to his room, where he found the kid Smashers waiting for him. "Since you were taking Villager back to Smashville, we decided to get your stuff together." Toon Link said, handing over a backpack.

Ness just quickly opened it and began to rummage through everything, double checking that there were a bunch of things, changes of clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste. Once he had confirmed everything, he just smiled. "Thank you guys."

"Well, since we'll be watching over you during the mission and staying in constant contact, we'll let you know if Lucas returns." Nana said.

Ness just flinched. And then the thought of someone else finding Lucas in the other world suddenly overcame him. "Guys..." Ness said. "I have a confession."

All of them just looked at Ness rather surprised. "It can wait until you get back." Red laughed, slapping Ness on the back. The others nodded in agreement.

"No, it can't." Ness replied. "Listen, what I'm about to say, please don't tell anyone else."

They all just looked at Ness rather confused. "Why?" Popo wondered.

"It's because it concerns Lucas." Ness said. "I lied. He didn't return to his island... He ran away."

They all just stared at him in shock. "What?!" Nana said.

"He ran away that night." Ness said. "He snuck aboard Saki and Isaac's ship, and is somewhere on that planet. I'm going to find him..."

Ness just expected the worse. He waited for them to lash out at him, but they didn't, they just all stood there confused and bewildered.

"Lucas ran away?" Red was able to stammer out.

Ness just nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you all." He said. "But I was afraid that it would cause panic, and make people think that Lucas betrayed the Smashers…"

Popo just punched Ness square across the jaw. The next thing Ness knew was that he was looking up at the ceiling, it took him several seconds to realize what had just happened. Everyone was just staring at Popo in shock. "Lucas would never betray the Smashers." Popo said. "You should know this better than anyone else."

"Yeah… you're right." Ness laughed.

Popo just stretched out his hand and helped Ness up. They all gathered around for one big group hug. "Thank you guys." Ness said. "For understanding everything…"

They said their good byes, and Ness took the bag and made his way down to the briefing room. Everyone looked at him as he entered the room. Ness just nervously laughed, and then sat down besides Roy.

"Great, you're all here." Master Hand said. "We can begin with the briefing. Once again your goal is to meet up with 12 chosen people, that I have dubbed the Chosen Champions."

"That is a stupid name." King Dedede said.

Master Hand just clenched his fist. "I did it for alliteration." Master Hand replied. "Anyways, they have the ability to cross over into our world, and they will help us, by sending any monsters or anything else that crosses over right back. Along with trying to figure out a way to stop this crisis. However, I doubt that they will be working together with each other. There is the possibility that they will fight each other, and you will have to fight your fellow Smashers. But for the most part, unless there is someone who will be a hazard in the mission I'd rather them not fight. Next, there is this device, it's called a 3DS, if it's destroyed, their memory will be erased, and they will be returned back to their previous life, and you Smashers will be returned back to here."

"Why?" Snake asked.

"It's a safety precaution, to avoid death." Master Hand replied.

"No, I meant why do we have to return back to here?" Snake asked. "Why can't we stay in the other world?"

"You protect them, and they protect you from standing out, and finding your way around the place." Master Hand replied. "They are to act as guides, and without your guide, you wouldn't be able to properly be there."

"My biggest accomplishments have been sneaking missions, you know, hiding so that people can't find me." Snake said. "I don't see why we can't stay in that world because the person we're with was knocked out."

"Because I said so." Master Hand replied.

"That really isn't a good answer." Ganondorf chimed in.

Master Hand just clenched his fist. "Because, I want you to be back here. There will be plenty of other things to do over here, and we're stretching our resources thin as it is."

"And what about ROB? Can't he multitask, and do a bunch of stuff here?" Captain Falcon asked.

"No, unfortunately he's doing something else. Fox, I'm going to send ROB with you and Marth." Master Hand said. "He won't interfere with your jobs, he's just going to go and download any and all information that he thinks will be useful for us from that world on our spare exabyte hard drive."

"Okay." Fox said.

"Wait, if ROB is also going to the other world, why don't you hire more Smashers then?" Snake asked.

"I've been looking for some new Smashers, however it's not an easy task finding people who are up to the job." Master Hand replied. "Now can we stop wasting time?"

The Smashers just nodded.

"Now then, the next point, the data that we've gotten back from Saki and Isaac, show that this is an inhabited world, that we would classify as a Modern Mundane world. The closest example we have for reference would be of Snake's or Ness' worlds."

"So, there's no magic in this world?" Pit said a bit shocked. A few of the other Smashers were clearly disappointed.

"How much is it like my world?" Snake asked.

"We don't know." Master Hand replied. "We haven't gotten significant information, but with what information we do have, I would guess that it was somewhere between the two of yours. From the information gathered, it seems to lack many of the supernatural elements, but there is always the possibility that Saki and Isaac haven't encountered that stuff yet."

Master Hand continued to explain everything, noting that the 12 Chosen Champions will be notified that they're coming, and that they should do their best to stay out of sight of normal people, and those Smashers that weren't human, were to stay hidden, only to reveal themselves to the Chosen Champions. Everything was going smoothly until...

"Now then, I have one final mission for each of you." Master Hand said. "It's quite simple, but, earlier Saki and Isaac had gone to meet someone else."

Ness' heart began to pound. Master Hand wouldn't reveal that Lucas had run away after he promised... right?

"I've reviewed the footage of them fighting against Aquamentus, and the person that they teamed up with can not be allowed to participate in these events." Master Hand said. "Your mission is to eliminate him, no matter what."

Everyone was now staring at Master Hand in shock. Those that had begun to fall asleep due to the long boring explanations were knocked back into reality.

"What?! Why?"

"Because, if he continues, he will bring about the complete destruction of all reality." Master Hand said. "He is our biggest enemy and threat right now. If you have to slay Saki and Isaac, do so... they are under the same rules as you. If the 3DS is destroyed, they will return here."

Everyone just remained shocked. "What?!" Mr. Game and Watch said.

"This is the best way." Master Hand said.

"But, why?!" Samus repeated. "They are our allies, they were sent out earlier to get this information. And now we're stabbing them in the back?!"

"Once again, this is the best way." Master Hand repeated. "They were sent out with the instructions to eliminate him as well, if he was deemed as a threat. While they haven't deemed him as a threat yet, I have. The person they found and are working with has the potential to destroy all of reality. He can not proceed any further."

"He has the potential, it's not an absolute!" Falco said.

"True, but I'd rather not take chances." Master Hand replied. "The safest road is the best one, and he can't walk it. Your orders on this matter are final, and there will be no more discussion on this subject. You are to eliminate him."

There wasn't much else to discuss. Master Hand dismissed them, and they all went down to the ships, where Master Hand teleported and was waiting. Across each of the Smasher's face was unease. Normally when traveling to the ships to go out on a mission, they would be talking up a storm, hyping themselves up, getting ready in their own unique ways… but not this time. This time it was just spent in silence.

They all arrived, and waiting for them was ROB, Master Hand, and Crazy Hand.

"Preparations are complete." Master Hand said. "I wish you all luck on your missions."

The Smashers just nodded. They all had their targets to find.

Master Hand just watched as one by one the ships departed. In the back of his mind he was anticipating another attack at any moment. Just that the ground would suddenly start shaking, and their enemies would try and stop the remaining ships from leaving.

But that didn't happen. Soon after all the ships had departed Master Hand just floated there, his brother Crazy Hand floated beside him. "Well," Crazy began "Looks like they're all gone now."

"I guess." Master Hand said. "This just seems too easy. After their attempt to stop us the first time."

"Yeah, you're right." Crazy Hand said a bit concerned. "Why would they only strike then?"

"Perhaps they had achieved what they thought they needed to the first time." Master Hand replied. He just glanced over at Crazy Hand who floated there. "Or now they know it's pointless to try and stop us, and that they wouldn't waste resources on a pointless attack like that."

"Perhaps." Crazy Hand replied.

"Well then, continue monitoring them. I'm going to go elsewhere." Master Hand said.

He floated out of the room and around the Mansion. All ready the mansion seemed much more quiet and empty. He didn't like this, as it seemed extremely eerie and now lifeless, something that should only be reserved for late at night and early in the morning when everyone was sleeping.

He just made his way to his office; however waiting there in front of the doors was Mega Man, in his human form Rock.

"Mega Man." Master Hand said.

"Dr. Light wanted me to deliver this, the bill for the Robot Master's services and all of the materials that were used for construction." Rock said.

Master Hand just took the envelope. "Thank you." He said.

"Thank you for choosing Light Labs." Rock said bowing. "I'll see myself out now."

The robot began to walk away. "Wait!" Master Hand quickly said. "Mega Man, I mean Rock, can we talk for a few moments?"

"Of course." Rock said.

Master Hand floated into his office, and Rock just followed. "Please take a seat." Master Hand said, motioning to a chair that was in front of his desk. Rock happily obliged. "Right now something big is going down. A portion of the Smashers have been sent away on a mission."

Rock just sat there attentively. "I'm thinking that we're going to need some new Smashers." Master Hand said. He snapped his fingers and an envelope, bearing the wax seal with a circle, and an offset cross appeared. "Please take this to Dr. Light. If possible, I would like you to be in the Smashers."

Rock just nodded. "Thank you." He said, taking the letter. "I'll give it to Dr. Light then."

"Thank you." Master Hand said. "You can leave then. If you see the kid Smashers as you're leaving, don't tell them about this."

"Of course." Rock said putting the letter into his pocket.

Rock rushed out of the room. Master Hand just floated behind his desk, before snapping his fingers, the large door shut, and then locked. He then floated over to the middle of the room. He just floated there for a few seconds, closing his fist and then opening it, followed by wiggling his fingers. "One meeting down, one more to go." He said to himself. "Let's call them…"

He teleported to the tower, and placed his hand in the middle of it. After several seconds, he spoke up. "Calling the Chosen Champions." He said. The tower began to illuminate.

Those 12 were summoned to the tower, among them was Noah. Each of them was looking around confused. "This dream again?" one said.

"I assure you it is not a dream." Master Hand said. "This is very real."

Everyone just looked around confused, and tired. "Is it really necessary to call us through our sleep?" One asked. "What if one of us was working or driving, or something? That could be dangerous."

"Prior to the meeting, I make sure that each of you are all in a safe and favorable position before calling you." Master Hand replied. "And sometimes I give you a few minutes. Anyways, this will hopefully be brief, at least 10 minutes. Then you can return back to your regular dreams. Now then, I called you all to tell you that The Smashers have departed to your world, and you will be meeting with them soon enough." Master Hand said. The glove began to explain more and more to them.

"If you have any more questions, please consult the digital manual that will be on your 3DS." Master Hand finished up. "Now then, I think our time is just about up. Until we meet again…"

"Wait!" Noah shouted. Everyone just looked at him in surprise.

"What is it, Number 10?" Master Hand asked.

"Before this dream, or transmission, or whatever this is ends… I have a question!"

"What is it?" Master Hand repeated.

"Yesterday, or was it two days ago now? There was a monster known as the Biolizard that had attacked and destroyed Springtime Mall!" Noah explained.

"Springtime mall?" Master Hand said a bit annoyed. "Seriously, isn't there a better name for a shopping mall?"

"That's not important. The thing is, today, everyone I talked to didn't know anything about it, it was like that had never existed." Noah explained. "It was wiped from their memories. A friend said that people have the power to forget, and I want to know… What's going on?"

"A safety precaution." Master Hand replied. "People are not supposed to know about other worlds, so if anything crosses over on purpose, or accidentally they forget what it even was within a day."

Noah just clenched his fist. "People must have died in that attack, and they were forgotten. Will we be forgotten, just like that?"

"I don't know." Master Hand replied. "If your 3DS is destroyed, your memories will be erased, and you'll be sent back to your normal life before you were chosen. That's all there is to it."

"That's sad." Noah said. "So, we won't remember anything, as monsters will continue to attack..."

"What a cry baby!" One said, in a mocking tone. "Geeze, why don't you just tell everyone who you are so we can eliminate you! It's not like you're going to be of any use to us crying all the time! This calls for action, and someone like you would just be a weakling and hold us back."

"That's enough." Another said.

"Oh? You think you can tell me what to do?" the mocking person said. "Why don't you come and find me, and take me out?!"

"Look, I just think that our time here conversing is limited." The person said. "If we just fill that time with you mocking everyone, no information will get passed to us which may cost us our lives."

"And you want to play hero?" The mocking person laughed. "Hah!"

"So, these are your chosen champions." A new voice said. Everyone suddenly just froze. Unlike their voices it wasn't digitized to hide his identity. Floating down towards them was Nugai.

"You can access this place?" Master Hand said shocked.

"Who do you take me for Master Hand?" Nugai replied. "I can be anywhere I please at any time."

"Then what brings you here?" Master Hand asked.

"Curiosity." Nugai replied. "I was wondering who you had chosen as the twelve chosen champions. I'm a bit disappointed."

"What was that?" Master Hand said.

Nugai just looked around at the twelve chosen champions. "Let's make a wager, Master Hand." Nugai said.

"On what?" Master Hand asked.

"On how many will actually survive the elimination game." Nugai said. "You made some poor choices."

"What was that!?" One shouted.

"Why do you want to bet on this?" Master Hand asked.

"It'll be interesting." Nugai replied. "I want to know how much you really believe in them. You just chose them to eliminate my proxy, didn't you? You didn't actually choose them on their own basis of being capable of saving our worlds."

"Nugai, I don't have time for this." Master Hand said.

"Very well then, I'll just be watching here." Nugai replied. "I won't say a word more."

"Who's that?!" One asked.

"Wait, you mean to tell me you don't recognize him as the person who was locked up a few years ago." The one who had been harassing the others said. "He's batshit insane."

"Okay, I lied." Nugai replied. "Yes, I was locked up, for trying to stop those who were going to fuse the two universes together."

"Oh, yeah sure." The person laughed.

"Number 12 that's enough." Master Hand said.

"What, next you're going to say that you want us to work together with this nutcase." The person said.

"_You sure got a controllable bunch of people._" Nugai thought. Unlike all of them, he could see each of them, and he knew about them, their pasts, and their current life from being able to read their source code. "Sorry, Master Hand, but I'm going to talk to captain jackass over here. You're calling me the nutcase? Quite a bit of pot calling the kettle black, don't you think? But yes, maybe eventually you would work with me, if you survive long enough. I wouldn't be surprised if you were the first to go!"

"What was that?! I'm stronger than you think!" Number 12 said.

Nugai just pointed at number 12. "I know exactly who you are." Nugai said. "And for some reason, I'm the one that's locked up."

"Nugai, Number 12, please our time is limited." Master Hand said.

"I thought you said that you were done, and that you were ready to send them back." Nugai sighed.

"You're right." Master Hand said, "but I have one final task for all of you. You are to all eliminate his proxy! Do not engage him until you get your Smashers, as he all ready has his!" Master Hand snapped his fingers, dismissing most of them in the process. However, Number 12 was left behind.

"What's going on?" Number 12 asked.

"Number 12." Master Hand said. "I left you here because I'm going to tell you the identity of his proxy, and I want you to fight and eliminate him from this game".

The person just laughed. "Oh? And why's that?"

"I think you have the best chance to fight them." Master Hand replied.

"Oh, is that all?" the person said rather bored. "I'm not really all that interested. If he's just a normal human, he'll just be snapped like a twig. It won't be worth the effort."

"He is also has a gift like yours." Master Hand said.

He just smiled. It was twisted and evil. "I see. Well then, that changes everything. Is he any good with it?"

"I don't know." Master Hand said. "I barely know his capabilities. I just figured I'd send the person with the greatest chance of success."

"Is that all then?" He laughed. "Well, I'll get the job done."

"Thank you Number 12." Master Hand said.

Number 12 just looked over at Nugai. "Hey, aren't you going to do anything, aren't you going to try and stop me from taking down your precious little proxy." Number 12 taunted.

Nugai just shrugged. "Hey, according to you, I'm insane. And, letting a serial killer go after my proxy is something that someone insane would probably do. Besides, I wouldn't have chosen him if he was just going to be eliminated by you. I also personally trained him myself to use aura. Besides, I told Master Hand if he didn't feel like my proxy was worthy, or good enough to be in this game, he could kill him."

"He's going to die, you know that." Number 12 said.

"Number 12, you should be careful." Master Hand said. "He was able to take down one of the monsters from our world alone, he is not to be underestimated. Please get rid of him. If you do, I'll make you the leader of the human forces."

A smile appeared across Number 12's face. "Very well then. But know, if I deem anyone weak, I won't have them serving underneath me! Such as that Number 10." He said before disappearing.

"So, that's quite an interesting group of chosen champions." Nugai said. "But not all that well picked. Once again, it seemed more as a reactionary group that was built to knock out my proxy, rather than a group chosen with the purpose to fight together and stop the worlds fusing. I mean, that Number 12, he's the serial killer that's been plaguing where I live."

Master Hand was just shaking. "Do you even know who you've chosen?" He said seething. "What his power is, what he's capable of?!"

Nugai laughed. "Yes, I do."

"Why!?" Master Hand snapped. "Why did you choose him then? Your choice will doom us all!"

Nugai just laughed. "Or it could be our salvation. Besides, I assure you, I have my reasons."

"Are you insane?!" Master Hand shouted.

"That's what everyone on this side says." Nugai replied. "Ah well, I trust my choice, and you should too. He is remaining as my proxy regardless if you like it or not. If you think your choices are better, just try and kick him out. His 3DS operates the same as your chosen champions. If it's destroyed, his memory will be erased and he will return to his old life."

"Very well then Nugai!" Master Hand replied floating there. "I chose them, because I can't take any chances. Your proxy has to be eliminated no matter what!"

Nugai just laughed. "I'll be watching." Nugai said. "Now then, about that wager…"

"Wager?" Master Hand asked confused.

"About how many chosen champions will be standing at the end of this. If you win, I'll wager my life. I'll serve under you, and do whatever you want, even eliminating my own proxy." Nugai said. "However, if I win, you have to accept my proxy, but until that point in time you can try and eliminate him as many times as you want, and you can use whatever means necessary, except for doing the deed yourself. Is this fair?"

Master Hand floated there. "You have some precognitive abilities don't you? You can see the future?"

Nugai just shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. If I could, there would be no need for half of this stuff. Now then, I think only 2 of these chosen champions will actually survive when all is said and done. 3 if we count my proxy."

"Only three?" Master Hand said a bit shocked.

"Yes. Do you understand the significance behind the number 12?" Nugai asked. "And why my instructions were for 12 people specifically?"

"No." Master Hand said.

"That was the amount of playable characters in the original Super Smash Brothers game." Nugai explained. "But 25 is now playing a big role in it too… Do you know the significance behind 25?"

"No." Master Hand repeated, rather agitated.

"There are 25 playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee. And you sent out 25 Smashers to the other world." Nugai replied. "12 groups of 2, and 1 group of 1 for a total of 25. 26 also works, if you count my Proxy's Zoroark and you count Zelda and Sheik as separate characters… Or maybe the 26th could be Lucas who stowed away and is in my world."

"Are you quite done?" Master Hand said annoyed.

"Well, almost. You never did answer my question." Nugai replied. "Although, I imagine you were trying to save face."

"What question?" Master Hand asked.

"When all is said and done, how many of the chosen champions that you chose will survive?" Nugai said. "I chose two. Your prediction?"

"I don't bet." Master Hand said.

"Is that because you know I'm right? Or because you realize that you only have one chance to knock out my proxy." Nugai said. "If he survives Number 12's attack, there will be nothing that you can do to stop him, and the only ones that will survive will be the ones who align themselves with him."

Master Hand just floated there. "Don't you have some place to be?"

"Not really." Nugai replied. "My cell is rather boring, but I can see when someone doesn't want to talk. But you either better learn to like my proxy, or grudgingly accept it. You have two weeks before things start getting really interesting. I'll be back later." And with that Nugai disappeared.

Master Hand just floated there. "You would put the fate of all existence in his hands…" Master Hand said. "You're a reckless gambler Nugai."

* * *

The twelve ships entered into the other world. "All right, everyone good luck with finding the person you're supposed to meet up with." Mario said over a radio.

Roy just glanced over to Ness. Much to the surprise of the swordsman, Ness had said very little since they entered the ship. He was just looking a bit nervous.

"Are you homesick?" Roy asked, after all that was a rather common thing that had happened to Ness at the mansion.

"No." Ness said.

"Is it about what Master Hand said before about finding Saki and Isaac?" Roy asked. "And having to eliminate them?"

"No." Ness replied. "It's something else… Listen, I know we're supposed to meet up with whoever our Chosen Champion is, but there's something else. Listen, can I trust you that this won't get relayed to any of the other Smashers."

Roy just nodded. "Yeah."

"Lucas ran away from the Smashers, and I believe that Lucas is somewhere in this world, and I need to find him." Ness replied.

"This world is big." Roy said.

"I know that, but Lucas is here, in this city." Ness replied. "I can feel it."

Roy just sighed. "You know that everything is at stake, right?"

"Yes." Ness replied.

"And still you insist on doing this?" Roy said, he looked at Ness who was nodding. He could see it in Ness' eyes, he wasn't going to back down from this. "Professionally, I don't think we should be looking for Lucas. He had made his decision and ran away from the Smashers. In many ways this could be disastrous to us and our mission. But I know that even if I say no, even if I tell the other Smashers, you're going to do it anyways. Personally, I'll miss the little guy, and the mansion won't seem as bright if he's not around. We'll find the Chosen Champion, and then find Lucas."

Ness just nodded. "Thank you Roy!" He said.

* * *

Elsewhere Number 12 woke up. He just stretched and looked around his room. "Stupid hand." He muttered. "Calling me and getting in the way of my business."

This person was rather difficult to deal with. At 25 years old he was an extremely dangerous person, and the oldest of the chosen champions. He had short dark black hair, and a large muscular build. Across his body was numerous piercing and tattoos.

His ability to go into the games was rather short lived. On November 13th 2007, he went into Assassin's Creed, taking over the role of Desmond he went into the Animus and became Altair, and Ezio. There he learned two things, the first he learned how to become an assassin. The second, that he loved killing people.

However on December 3rd, 2007 the gateways between the worlds were closed. And he soon learned that he depended on the thrill of the hunt. There was a rush of excitement that he found in tracking someone down, and ending their lives. The fight, the struggle, watching as the fire in their eyes was extinguished. It was one of the many things that made him feel alive. He found it just wasn't the same with doing a controller.

And now there were many different words that could be used to describe him. Assassin, hitman, vigilante, serial killer, sadist, sociopath, psychopath. The bottom line was, he killed for fun.

Initially he just began as a vigilante, finding a local gang and all the members, and just killing them. But when he eliminated one gang, another gang moved in, it continued. He became addicted to killing.

In the beginning, he was afraid and terrified that they would somehow be able to hunt him down. But, that was the best part about it though, no one was able to figure out it was him. There was no technology on earth that could trace his killing method. Using his gift, the ability of aura, to do internal damage. He didn't need to leave any prints, he could do a decent aura attack from at least a hundred meters away. Of course he didn't actually know what the name of the ability was called. He just imagined it was like an invisible ki attack in shows like Dragonball Z, which wouldn't be too off the mark.

He was perhaps the one that Master Hand debated the longest about giving the power to, and involving in this. But, the inclusion of Nugai's proxy had forced him to do this.

He looked at his hand, and saw that he had a slight scratch on it. He just smiled, recalling the events of the day and a fight that he came home from.

* * *

His fist collided with a face, delivering the final blow in a fight. The other person fell to the ground, his body was badly beaten. The victor of the fight, who had his coat draped over his shoulders just looked down and spat on the felled opponent. "Stay out of my sight," he laughed. "You aren't worth it."

There were others there, about twelve in total, just laughed and they all began to walk away from the badly beaten body, leaving it in the forest.

The people just began to congratulate the victor. "Good job man, the boss will be pleased."

"You're one of us now." another laughed, patting him on the back. However, the victor delivered a swift kick to the one who had touched him.

"Don't touch me." He growled. "I'm sorry to say this, but I'm not particularly fond about following orders. I'm the kind of person who gives them. Now, where is your boss? I'm ready to wipe out the rest of your stupid little gang..."

The eleven remaining gang members just surrounded the victor. "So, you're the one who has been attacking our members?"

"Yeah." He laughed.

"We're going to beat the shit out of you Hero!"

"As if you could even do that." Hero laughed, closing his eyes.

The eleven of them rushed for Hero. The next moment they were all pushed to the ground by an invisible force. Hero was exerting a large amount of pressure on all of them. "None of you are even in my league. You can't even touch me…" He just continued to apply pressure until nearly everyone had passed out. Hero just went to one of the still conscious people and picked him up by the shirt collar. "Now then, you're going to tell me where your boss is."

"Like I'd do that!"

Hero just laughed. "You're loyal. I like that. I wonder how loyal though." Hero then broke one of the person's fingers. "One finger, you have nine more."

The person cried out in pain. "I won't tell you!"

"Pity." Hero said as he broke another finger. "I really wonder what's going to be next, after I break your remaining eight figures. I hope you don't plan on having any children."

* * *

After interrogating and getting the information, he had returned home briefly to get ready for his little attack on the hideout. However, a sudden bout of drowsiness began to come over him. He recognized this, it had happened before when Master Hand was calling them. The meeting occurred, and then he woke up.

He just smiled. "Someone else who has the same power as me." He laughed. "These idiots will be a good warm up…"

* * *

A door was knocked off of it's hinges and Hero walked into what should have been an abandoned warehouse. Sitting there were a bunch of thugs. "So, you're the boss." Hero laughed.

Sitting up in the shadows was some guy. "Yeah." He replied.

"Well, ex-boss. I hate to say it, but this gang is over." Hero laughed.

"You've got some serious balls saying that." He laughed. "You realize now you're not going to leave here alive." Hero was surrounded by several goons. He just laughed and grabbed his jacket and threw it off.

"If you think you can kill me, I'd like to see you try."

"Before that, what is your name? We need something to mark you grave with. Then again I guess Dumbass would suffice."

"My name is Hero." He replied pulling a pipe off of his back. All of the goons rushed for Hero.

A twisted smile just crossed his face. He just began to fight. The goons rushed for him, but unfortunately, they were just normal humans, they were next to nothing. The only time he actually felt worried was if any of them pulled out any weapons. But he quickly dealt with them, not even giving them the chance to use whatever weapon. Soon it was all over, and he just stood over a hundred defeated bodies. "So, tell me ex-boss, how many of them were there?"

"I don't believe it!" The boss said. "You defeated 100 people!"

"100?" Hero said a bit shocked. "They were so weak I thought it was only 30 or so at the most!"

"Just what are you?" the boss said shocked. "You were far to fast for anyone. Your speed, your reflexes. You just aren't human!"

"I assure you that I am human." Hero calmly replied. "You see, I just have control over this special ability that puts me leagues above weak humans such as yourself. And I've had plenty of time to hone my abilities against trash like you. Now then, Mr. Ex-Boss, goodbye."

"As if!" The boss shouted. He pulled out a knife and brought it to stab Hero. However, before the knife could hit Hero, it shattered. It was as though it had hit a brick wall.

"Pathetic..." Hero said, picking up the boss and placing him against the wall. "People like you are better off dead anyways." He placed his hand against the boss' chest and a moment later, an invisible attack sent the body into the wall leaving a nice little imprint. The boss began to scream out in pain.

Hero just ignored it, and began to go around the warehouse. Finding some money that they had left lying around, and then he soon found something else.

"Look what I found. Explosives." Hero just smiled. " It's time to level this building!"

* * *

Two people walked towards an abandoned looking warehouse. "Are you sure this is the place?" One asked.

"Positive." Another replied, checking a device. "It's pointing that he's here..."

"Damn it, this guy is crazy! What makes you think that this is the place?"

"We're just following the path of half dead bodies."

They approached one barely conscious person. "Hey, are you all right?" They asked.

"Ugh." the guy moaned.

They just held up a photograph. "Did this person come by here?"

Suddenly the guy began to scream.

"That seems like a positive result."

They looked inside and saw about 100 people on the ground. Both of them looked around confused. "One person did all of this?"

The two of them suddenly stopped. They heard a beeping and suddenly froze. Both of them quickly ran away. Moments later the bombs went off and the building was leveled. The two of them just looked back at the building. "This guy is insane!" One shouted. "He just killed..."

"Samus, calm down."

"Ganondorf, this really isn't the time..."

"Samus, we should get out of here. We shouldn't pursue him…" He said.

"Is this really the person that Master Hand wants us to meet up with?" Samus said shocked. "Just what is going on?"

"Let's return back to the ship, and rethink this." Ganondorf said.

"Oh, did I miss two?" A voice said. They turned around to see Hero just standing there. "Wait, you're two of the Smashers that Master Hand said would be coming here. So, I get Ganondorf and Samus."

Ganondorf just glared at Hero. "You did all of this?" Ganondorf asked.

"Yeah." Hero replied. "You have a problem?"

"Why did you do it?" Ganondorf asked.

"Why not?" Hero replied. "I was bored, and they existed. They're trash, no one cares if they live or die. The world is probably a better place without them anyways!" Ganondorf just clenched his fist. "What, are you going to try and to talk down to me? And somehow say that you're better than me? How many have you killed Ganondorf on your quest for the triforce? Are you going to say that it's somehow different?"

Ganondorf just threw a dark energy ball right at Hero it hit him and sent him flying back.

"I refuse to work with you." Ganondorf replied, walking away. Samus just followed.

Hero just laughed, getting back up. "Who are you going to side with then? Didn't you come over here to prevent a disaster?"

"We did." Ganondorf replied.

"Aren't you under orders to meet up and team with me." Hero laughed.

"As far as I'm concerned, we never met up." Ganondorf replied, walking away.

"Hey, wait! Get back here!" Hero shouted. "Get back here, and obey me!" Ganondorf and Samus however just continued to ignore him. Hero just rushed past the two of them, and stood in front of them.

Ganondorf just had a smile across his face. "No." He replied, forcing himself past Hero. He stretched out his hand and a portal appeared.

"Get back here!" Hero shouted. "Master Hand had promised me that I will be the leader of the group if I get rid of someone!"

Ganondorf just laughed. "Well then, if you can get rid of him, go right ahead, maybe then I'll rethink my position." He said walking into the portal. Samus just followed. The portal then disappeared.

* * *

Saki was sitting on the couch watching TV, when suddenly he felt his cell phone vibrate. He just looked around confused, it took him several seconds to register that, yes, that was in fact, his cellphone. After all, he hadn't received any calls since he got here, and the only other person here that knew his phone number was Isaac.

He just got up and walked outside, looked at his phone and the caller display in shock. It was Samus Aran.

"Hello?" He said.

"Saki, it's Samus."

Saki thought about saying that he knew that because of the caller display, but decided to just ask something else. "Why are you calling me?" Saki asked, confused.

"Listen, we've come to this world, now, all 12 groups are here, and looking for the people that we're supposed to team up with." Samus said. "But, I felt as though I needed to warn you about something."

"What?" Saki wondered.

"Master Hand told us to eliminate the person that you had found, and even to slay you two if you get in the way." Samus said.

Saki just froze. "What?" He said shocked. "What the hell?"

"He wouldn't explain, just saying that the person you're with shouldn't be in these events and will only bring about complete destruction of all reality." Samus said.

Saki just cringed. "Okay." He managed to say. "Thanks for the warning, is there anything else?"

"We found the person we were supposed to team up with." Samus said. "But, Ganondorf has refused to work with him. Listen, he's dangerous, and I'm positive that Master Hand has contacted him. He'll be coming after you guys next."

"What makes you so sure about that?" Saki laughed.

"It's been a few hours, and we've returned to the ship and have been researching some news about this world, or this city. The news here has been talking about a serial killer who is able to kill the victims in some unknown fashion." Samus replied.

"Oh crap..." Saki muttered, putting two and two together.

"Right." Samus said. "That serial killer was the person we were supposed to meet up with."

"Thanks for the heads up." Saki sighed. "_What the hell is Master Hand thinking? Letting a serial killer be apart of this but, somehow Nugai's successor is bad?! This is beyond absurd._"

* * *

Back in the other world, Rock had returned to Dr. Light's labs. "Dr. Light, I'm back." Rock shouted, as he walked through the front doors. He made his way up to where Dr. Light was currently sitting behind a desk, writing on a bunch of papers. "I have handed the bill to Master Hand."

Dr. Light just nodded. "Thank you Rock." He said.

"There is something else." Rock said. "He gave me this to give to you."

He handed over the paper envelope. Dr. Light looked at it and opened it up, and read through it. "I see." He said. "Master Hand wishes for you to become a Smasher." He let off a heavy sigh. "Rock, I created you to be my lab assistant, and it was only through circumstances that you became equipped to fight as Mega Man. I know you're a pacifist, and never wish to fight, only having it as the absolute last option."

Rock just nodded. "You're right, Dr. Light." Rock just bowed and began to walk away. Dr. Light just sighed, and looked back at the letter. Of course it explained that Master Hand wanted Mega Man to be a Smasher.

"And besides, I don't want you to be hurt." Dr. Light said. He viewed Rock as the son he never had. Even if Rock and Roll were a robots, they were still his family.

Rock made his way to his room, where he plugged himself in to recharge.

Back with Dr. Light, he was still writing and working on papers. Elecman came into the room. "Dr. Light." He said.

"Elecman, have you gotten the reports on the monthly electricity usage?" Dr. Light asked.

"Yes, of course, it's right here." Elecman said. "I know this isn't my place Doctor, but why don't you want Mega Man in the Smashers?"

Dr. Light just sat there.

"I'm afraid of the dangers that he will face." Dr. Light replied. "I'm afraid that he'll change and I'll lose him."

"What do you mean?" Elecman asked. "Mega Man is just like us, right, programmed with the 3 laws, and bound to stick to them from his programming."

"The first law: A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm. The second law: A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the first law. The third law: A robot must protect it's own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law." Dr. Light said. "When Dr. Wily took you over, he had put in a chip that could circumvent the three laws, and it was disastrous. But, due to Rock having to be modified to fight you, and the unknown effects it would have on him, I programmed into him the a fourth law known as the zeroth law. A robot may not harm humanity, or by inaction allow humanity to come to harm."

"With a law like that programmed into his code, he could easily hurt anyone." Elecman said. "As long as it was for protecting all of humanity."

"Yes." Dr. Light said. "I have a small fear about what Master Hand said, he said in his letter that they're trying to prevent our dimension and another from fusing, but if Rock sees it as beneficial for humanity, and the future, he could easily switch sides and fight against the Smashers despite what he originally went for."

"But isn't that the same for every Smasher?" Elecman questioned. "That they have freewill, and could betray the Smashers in an instant. I think you're thinking rather low of Mega Man, he would be able to tell if something was twisted and wrong."

Dr. Light just sighed. "Maybe you're right Elecman. We humans are known for making foolish decisions. We have things that clog our judgement: feelings, our own personal biases, our heart. Still what's logical isn't always the best decision either."

"Dr. Light, I or one of the other robot masters would be fine with going to the Smashers and watching over Mega Man if that's what's worrying you." Elecman said.

"Actually, about that." Dr. Light said. "There was a note, that Master Hand would like to have you permanently there in order to supervise their ships and shields and things, and prepare in case a power failure occurred."

Elecman just stood there. "I understand." He said.

* * *

At the Forces of Nature's base, Dark Pit suddenly woke up. He had been enjoying a nice nap, but suddenly he felt strange, as though his connection to Pit had vanished. He just got up and began to walk around the base, until he bumped into Viridi, a goddess who looked like a little girl with long blonde hair.

"Dark Pit, what's wrong?" She asked.

"I don't know how or why, but it feels like Pit just vanished." He said.

"Phosphora." Viridi shouted.

Like a bolt of lightning, a young blonde woman appeared. She had a long blue scarf that was wrapped around her neck, that seemed to become electricity towards the end. She had short white clothes leaving her stomach and legs exposed. Around her body was a green vine. "You called?"

"Get the lightning chariot! We're paying a visit to Palutena!" Viridi said.

"Of course." With that Phosphora disappeared. Viridi and Dark Pit walked over to where the Lightning Chariot was being stored, along with two unicorns, Phos and Lux. The three of them got onto the chariot and with a crack of the reins they were off.

They soon had arrived at Palutena's temple, where they made their way to Palutena's throne room. "Pittoo, Viridi, and Phosphora." Palutena said, sitting on her throne. "What do I owe this pleasure to?"

"Don't call me that!" Dark Pit snapped.

Palutena just smiled. "And why not Pittoo?"

"Enough." Viridi said, just pointing her staff at Palutena. "We're not here for this squabble over Dark Pit's name. Palutena, we came here because Pit has seemingly vanished. Dark Pit can't sense him."

Plautena just nodded. "Yes," She said, standing up. "Master Hand had informed me that this could have happened. That your twin telepathy as he calls it would begin to act up."

"Master Hand?" Dark Pit said annoyed. "Who's that?"

"The leader of the Smashers." Palutena said.

Viridi was just staring at Palutena for a few seconds. "Palutena, do you have a cold? Your voice seems different?"

"Does it?" Palutena asked confused. "Well, perhaps if you thinks it sounds off, could you prepare some medicinal herbs?"

"Not a problem." Viridi said. "Now what did Master Hand have to say?"

"That Pit went to another dimension." Palutena replied. "And that in the case that you came back here Pittoo, that I should know."

"Very well then." Dark Pit said. "I guess we got all of our answers, I'm going back to the lightning chariot."

"Wait, Pittoo, stay here." Palutena said. "I've been watching the Underworld for the past little while."

Dark Pit just glanced back at Palutena. "And why would you do that?"

"Several weeks ago, I had a premonition." She said. "It was just a dream, but it felt so real... Darkness was coming from the Underworld, and the army was attacking again. Since that dream, I've been watching, and I feel confident in saying that Hades has returned."

"How right you are, pretty Palutena." A voice said. Appearing in Palutena's temple was none other than Hades himself. The purple skinned man just walked between the four of them. Dark Pit just had his staff and aimed right at Hades. Palutena, and Viridi were holding onto their staffs and an aura was glowing off of them. Phosphora was sparking with electricty. "It's been so long since we last saw each other. I was expecting a much warmer welcome. Maybe an apology for vaporizing me the last time. Besides, you're wasting your time, this is only an astral projection. Like I'd actually show myself to you after what happened last time."

"How did you survive being vaporized?!" Viridi asked.

"I didn't." Hades replied. "It was very painful, and I'd rather not talk about it."

"And why did you come here, Hades?" Palutena asked.

Hades just laughed. "Oh, I just wanted to see how my old friends Pretty Palutena, and Viridi were doing."

"Don't you dare call us your friends, you monster." Viridi snapped.

"Oh, and after I came all this way to deliver some information on Pitty Pat." Hades said.

"On Pitstain?" Dark Pit said. "And what information is that?"

"The Smashers are going into an alternate dimension to try and stop our dimension and that one from fusing together." Hades said.

"What?" Palutena said.

"Of course, you would probably know that I want the two dimensions to fuse together." Hades said.

"And why are you telling us this?" Palutena asked.

"Because, I want you to know that over all the chaos that spreads, all of the death and destruction, and all of the things that happen from this point out, will be your fault." Hades replied, his voice seething with rage. "You who stopped me from gathering souls, and left me in this wretched state! Barely even able to hang on to my own existance! Just left as a spirt, barely capable of interacting with the world, and now a shadow of what I formally was. I'm doing this to regain my former power and then crush you all."

"So, you're doing all of this for revenge?" Dark Pit said.

"Yes, I'm incredibly petty." Hades replied. "Now then... I hope we see each other later. Ta-ta!"

Hades vanished. Just leaving Palutena, Dark Pit, Viridi, and Phosphora alone in Palutena's throne room. All of them just remained silent for several minutes.

"What are you going to do Plautena?!" Viridi eventually asked.

Palutena just stood up. "I'm going to prepare something to fight Hades. It seems like we will be allies once again, Viridi."

"Yeah fine." Viridi said.

"Before you do that, can I ask for the location of something, Palutena?" Dark Pit asked.

"Very well then." she said.

* * *

Dark Pit, Phosphora, and Viridi had returned to the Forces of Nature's base.

Viridi was just currently sitting down, drinking some tea that she had made. "Hades is back." She muttered, recalling the fight with him the last time, how it took the combined strength of Pit and four separate gods to beat him, Dyntos who made the great sacred treasure, that Hades had totaled during the fight. Medusa, who had distracted Hades for a final few seconds. Palutena who had charged up the great Sarcred Treasure's cannon to deliver the final blow, and herself who had helped activate the power of flight on Pit. "No, Hades is definitely weaker than he was back then, now would definitely be the time to strike..."

She paused for several seconds and just stood up in shock and realization. She quickly began, rushing through her base, and getting to the armory. As she expected, in there was Dark Pit.

Dark Pit just covered himself with a dark cloak, and chanted a spell to make his wings disappear. He then grabbed his staff, along with several other weapons including a violet palm that was all ready on his right hand, an Ogre Club that was slung on his back, a silver bow that was currently separated and hanging off of his belt, a first blade that was also hanging off of his belt, an EZ cannon that was also slung on his back.

"Dark Pit, where are you going?" Viridi asked.

Dark Pit just looked back at the Goddess of Nature. "Sorry, but I'm going down to the underworld." He said. "I'm stopping Hades."

"You think you can do that alone?" Viridi asked.

Dark Pit just laughed. "Of course, anything Pitstain can do, I can do better. Besides, I'm just cleaning up his mess."

Viridi just sighed. "He's weaker than he used to be, but that doesn't mean he's a complete and total pushover. Remember how many Gods it took to beat him last time."

"I know." Dark Pit said. "But, I'm not the same as Pit."

Viridi just looked at Dark Pit, rather frustrated. "Fine," She said. "But don't blame me when this backfires. Phosphora!"

"You called?" Phosphora asked, appearing in front of Viridi, bowing.

"Yes." She replied. "Dark Pit seems to want to go face Hades on his own. You're going to follow him wether he likes it or not."

"Okay." Phosphora said.

"I don't need her help." Dark Pit said.

"Don't say that!" Viridi replied. "You're going to need someone who will bail you out when you get into trouble!"

"I wasn't planning on going alone." Dark Pit said. "I was going to go find one of Pit's old allies first."

Viridi just laughed. "Who would be crazy enough to actually go on a suicide mission in the underworld?"

"Who indeed." Dark Pit replied. "Are you coming Phosphora?"

"Of course." Phosphora said.

"Get a cloak, something to cover you, where we're going, you don't want to be seen." Dark Pit said. "Especially dressed like that." Phosphora just nodded, grabbing a cloak,

"And just where's that?" Phosphora wondered.

"The human world." Dark Pit said.

Phosphora just looked shocked at Dark Pit. "The human world?!" She said. "How can you find anyone who can go toe to toe with anyone in the underworld army or us?!"

"There is one." Dark Pit replied. "The strongest human, Magnus."

"Interesting." Phosphora laughed.

Viridi just walked over to them. "Just one last thing before you go." She said. She placed her hands over the majority of the weapons that Dark Pit had attached to himself. Suddenly they transformed into gemstones. "At least use weapon gems, so you don't look completely stupid with all that stuff."

"Thanks Viridi." Dark Pit said.

"And one last thing, you better come back alive." Viridi said. "I'll be watching you."

The two nodded, and then departed the Forces of Nature's base.

* * *

In the ship that they had departed in, Samus and Ganondorf were sitting at a table, both of them drinking cups of coffee. "Can I ask a question?" Samus asked.

Ganondorf just nodded. "Go right ahead." He said.

"Why did you refuse to work with that guy?" Samus said.

"He's weak." Ganondorf replied. "I don't know what the person that Master Hand wants eliminated is like, but, if we teamed up with that person, we would never be able to save our world, or this one."

Samus just nodded in agreement. "He killed for sport..." Samus muttered.

"Seems more like one of your bounty hunter targets than an actual potential ally." Ganondorf said.

"Yeah." Samus replied.

* * *

Elsewhere, in the middle of the night Noah woke up to go to the washroom. "That dream again..." He muttered, as he splashed his face with some water. "No, it's not just a dream..."

He made his way down to the desktop computer and turned it on. After several minutes and it had fully started up, he quickly went online. "What did that one person say it was, Super something... That glove... what was it's name... what was he saying... Smashers! That's it." He typed in Smashers into google. The first page of results weren't exactly as hopeful as he thought it would be. He saw a music group called The Planet Smashers. His eyes went up to the top result. "Category: Smashers - SmashWIki, the Super Smash Bros. wiki." He read. "Was that it?"

He just clicked on it, but was a bit shocked to see a list of other humans. "Crews, teams, African Smashers, Asian Smashers, Central American Smashers..." He read. "This isn't what I want, is it?"

He soon saw an individual page named "Smasher." He clicked on it.

"This article is about players of the Super Smash Bros. games. For the playable characters in said series, see List of Super Smash Bros. series characters."

He clicked on the next link, "list of Super Smash Bros. series characters." He began to read through it. Looking at the list of playable characters, that had a head right beside their name. "Bowser, Captain Falcon, Charizard, Diddy Kong..." he began to read going down the list of characters. "Link... Wait I've played this at friend's houses..." He muttered to himself. It wasn't a whole lot, as they had this tendency to jump between games, and he didn't remember a lot about it. "Yeah, I played Brawl... and..." His eyes had continued reading, and he saw the name Lucas. There was a small little head there, but he couldn't make things out. He clicked the name and saw a sprite of Lucas from Mother 3, along with his Brawl render. Yellow and red striped shirt, jean shorts. Blonde hair.

He just looked over the super deformed model and shook his head. He just laughed at himself. "That was silly." He muttered. "Thinking they're the same person, beyond the blond hair they've got nothing in common." He just looked through the list of characters, and then saw a list of non playable characters, there he saw Master Hand, he clicked on it, and saw the giant white glove. He just stared at the screen for several minutes.

"It's real..." He muttered to himself, rather shocked.

* * *

_I'll be there someway somehow_

_That's what bein' friends is about!_

_~ Bein' Friends, Mother Vocal Album._

* * *

**File 1**

**Do you want to save**

**YES**

**Party: Alex, Zoroark, Saki, Isaac.**

* * *

**Notes: **

**The best typo award goes to... ****"No, I'm not sharking a room!" I think I got all of the typos, it stopped underlining them unless I started typing on the line. So I copied it back into word, but I think my copy of word is flaky with spell check too, and some times it doesn't do it.  
**

**The villagers and their names:**

**Red 1: Villager**

**Pink Flower: Kelli**

**Yellow 6: Jeff**

**Green Girl: Laura**

**Blue Tiedye: Rob**

**Yellow Blue stripe Dress: Leslie**

**Purple 4: Steve**

**Lime Green Dress: Patty**

**The names Kelli, Jeff, Rob, and Leslie came from the Animal Crossing Gamecube North America commercials. If you haven't seen them before look them up. The others I made up (Laura, Patty, and Steve).**

**The Pink haired villager I named Kellie, since that character had a lot of pink on. However that character, in the commercial had the eyes of the yellow and blue striped dress, So.. Kelli and Leslie's eyes are reversed... Rob and Jeff, stayed with the character that had same eyes.**

**And only actually after deciding to name them Rob and Jeff… Do I realize that there are now 2 Jeff's and 2 Rob's (Well one Rob, one ROB.)**

**Part of me wanted to rename Laura so that she has the long e sound as the theme that sort of seemed like it was going on there…**

**No idea if they are going to play a bigger role or not. **

**The letter from Villager's mother is an actual Animal Crossing letter.**

**Incase you didn't know an Exabyte is 1,024 petrabytes, a petrabyte is 1,024 Terabytes.  
**

"**Springtime Mall" I chose that as a generic name for a shopping mall. **

**Hero… The most ironically named character imaginable… Yes, it was intentional. I originally had him knowing what Aura was, but I changed it because, for all intents and purposes, he lives in a vacuum. Only 2 other humans know about aura, and that its a real thing. You're not going to go online to a message board for others who have mastery and control over aura. Can't say I'm too happy with his part...  
**

**As revealed in the Dark Pit Palutena guidance, after Kid Icarus Uprising, Dark Pit went to work for Viridi. Works for me! Onwards to the next chapter! "Chapter 5: Another Hero? Oh please!"**


	5. Another Hero? Oh Please!

**Prechapter notes: Well, like I said before, I'll be having a "the story so far" summary, on certain chapters. I feel that most of the introduction stuff is finally over so a quick summary will be here. I'm uncertain if it will be every five chapters, or if it will be after every story arc, or every two. I'm figuring this out as I go along…**

**Also, since I did reference the Mother Vocal album, I saw there was a kickstarter for a vynal version of it to be released outside of japan... I didn't back it. It would have been neat, but, ehh... I need to save my money for other things. (Downloadable Mii costumes... those are going to ruin me.)  
**

**And Lucas is DLC. And that may have just changed some plans I had much later in the story...**

* * *

Chapter 5: Another Hero? Oh Please!

The story so far:

On December 3rd, 2007, a person was sucked into Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and was forced to fight for his survival. During that time he adopted the name Nugai, and learned that there were people working to fusing both his world, and the universe that he knew only through video games together. Even after obtaining the power over Time, Space, and the ability to rewrite reality to whatever he pleased, he learned that he was still unable to prevent the worlds from fusing. But he could delay it.

Upon returning to his world, and temporarily sealing the way and stopping all travel between the two universes, he set out to find allies who could help him in the inevitable battle. However he was only able to find one person, his cousin Alex, before he was sent to an insane asylum to be silenced.

March 30th, 2014: He went to meet with the Smashers, the seal that he had used was on it's last legs. He approached Master Hand with the plan that he had made. Finding 12 people, who will be called Chosen Champions, who had the potential to crossover to the other world. They would join up with his successor, Alex, and work together to find and stop everything.

Master Hand sent Saki and Isaac out to find Nugai's successor. However as they were leaving, the mansion was attacked by a force sent by Hades, Lord of the Underworld, and they were stranded in the other world, with no communications.

Through out this, Lucas also ran away from the Smashers, afraid of the upcoming battles, and had stowed away in the ship that Saki and Isaac had used to get to the other world.

Upon reaching the other world, Saki and Isaac found a Zenith soldier, a bio-engineered super soldier created for the sole purpose of assisting to fuse the two worlds, named San, and had met up with Nugai's successor, who for some reason had a Zoroark for several years, even though it was impossible to traverse between the two universes.

Lucas on the other hand had found a boy named Noah, one of Master Hand's 12 chosen champions. Neither knew the others identity.

In Alex's class a new student named Cody entered, he is Government agent who actually works for Nugai as an inside man who relayed information and was sent there to watch over Alex.

Emerging into the world was Aquamentus, that Alex, Saki, Isaac, and Zoroark defeated. The next day, another person named Mugen crossed over looking for San. He unleashed the Biolizard, that Saki, Isaac, Zoroark, San and a weakened Alex tried to fight. Only with San sacrificing himself was the Biolizard defeated.

While all this was happening the Smashers were repairing their systems and the next wave was getting ready to go out.

The next day Alex fell ill. Master Hand also sent out the smashers that were to meet up with the chosen champions, with an order. They were to eliminate Alex and make sure that he wasn't to take part in the upcoming battle.

Master Hand sent who he believed to be the strongest of his Chosen Champions after Alex: a man, ironically named Hero. A serial killer who could also use aura.

Elsewhere, other forces had begun to move. Dark Pit, sensed his other half leaving the world, and began to investigate, and decided to go to the underworld to try and finish what Pit had started, and actually kill Hades.

And that has been the story so far.

* * *

On a comet that traveled throughout the galaxy, there was a woman in a blue dress, surrounded by a bunch of yellow star like creatures known as luma. The luma came in many different colors, red, blue, green, even white. She just looked at all of the lumas. Something had been bothering her, something didn't feel right, and she had sent them out to observe and bring her news.

"And what news do you bring me?" She asked, her voice was warm, like that of a mothers.

"Mama!" One said. "It's worse than you thought."

Her face was suddenly covered with worry. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"We have to get out of here Mama!" The small luma chirped. "I'll explain later, but something followed me..."

Suddenly several black bug like creatures began to hit the comet observatory. The woman just looked worried, as the bug creatures began to take shape into something else. "It's here!" The luma cried. "Mama!"

"Rosalina, perhaps we should go," A dark brown luma, Polari said. "This is really bad, I didn't think this beast was still alive!"

Rosalina just pulled out a wand with a star at the end of it. "We have to get all of the lumas to safety!" Rosalina said. She looked at it and just swung her wand. "I will fight it!"

"Please, Rosalina, you have no chance against it." Polari pleaded.

"Even so, it has invaded our home." She replied. "I will stand against it!"

She swung her wand and gravity around the creature suddenly increased, causing it to go down to the ground, and begin to be imprinted into the ground. The lumas took this opportunity to flee. However a second batch of black creatures rushed right for Rosalina she jumped back to avoid the attack from the second batch, causing her to lose the concentration regarding the gravity that was holding down the first batch. The two batches quickly got back together and just began to fly around.

"Polari, what is that creature?!" Rosalina asked.

"It's called the Swarm." Polari replied. "Monsters old as time itself, able to become anything it wants or desires."

Rosalina just nodded. "Okay."

"Rosalina, you can't battle it, not even Master Hand has been able to destroy them." Polari replied. "Nothing has been able to!"

"But, I can't let them trespass, and destroy the comet observatory." Rosalina replied. "I must also be able to protect my children."

The swarm suddenly shot several long blades right towards Rosalina, she just quickly jumped out of the way. The swarm stabbed the ground and suddenly began to spark with purple electricity.

"Mama!" A luma said rushing right to Rosalina, "I'm going to help you fight!"

Rosalina just nodded and faced the Swarm. She just summoned several launch stars that sent the luma rocketing right through the swarm. Constantly hitting it. But with every hit against the swarm, it just dispersed, it didn't actually seem to do any damage to the monster. Rosalina quickly summoned a pull star, with a wave of her wand, the swarm was pulled towards the pull star.

"Rosalina!" Polari shouted. "There is something you should know! The Swarm is constantly evolving and growing stronger! It may grow resistant to your attacks!"

"Don't worry." Rosalina replied. "I'll end this quickly!"

The swarm suddenly broke free of the pull star's gravitational pull, and rushed for several lumas. Rosalina however just extended her hand. "Enough!" She said. Suddenly unleashing a bunch of gravity, that forced the Swarm down onto the ground. All of the lumas began to flee away from the swarm. Rosalina waved her wand and all of the swarm began to come to a single point, followed by Rosalina creating a sphere to contain them.

"Rosalina, the Swarm can't be contained for very long." Polari said.

Rosalina just nodded. "I understand." She replied. "What should we do to it?"

"I don't know." Polari replied. "Anything I've heard about the Swarm says that it can't be destroyed, only temporarily dispersed."

Rosalina just looked at the Swarm stuck behind the barrier she made. All ready it was aggressively trying to break free, doing whatever it could to try and escape it's prison, smashing against the barrier, trying to expand. But Rosalina was strong enough to keep the barrier up. "We'll throw them into a star. They will hopefully be destroyed that way."

The comet observatory began to move. Rosalina just walked towards the luma that had been running from the Swarm.

"Little one, where did this come from?" She asked.

"I saw it emerging from a black hole." The luma said. "And then it began to chase me!"

Rosalina just nodded. "I see." She said.

They began to approach a star. Rosalina just set up several launch stars that the sphere was soon placed in. "Let's hope this works." Rosalina said. She placed the sphere that contained the swarm in the launch star. However, the Swarm began to screech, actually destroying the barrier. It began to fly around the comet observatory, and destroy anything it could. Rosalina quickly waved her wand causing a barrier to appear around the entire comet observatory, that pushed away the swarm, and then it shot away.

After several minutes the comet observatory began to shake, the barrier began to break apart, and a luma rushed to Rosalina. "Mama, we no longer have control over the comet observatory!" It said. "We're just drifting in space!"

Rosalina looked rather worried. Parts of the comet observatory had all ready broken off. She just looked at a luma. "You must go to Master Hand, and tell him of our situation, that we were attacked by the swarm, and are now drifting through space. He will come to our aid."

The luma nodded and then flew away. "Miss Rosalina, what should we do in the mean time."

"We wait." Rosalina said. "It's about the only thing we can do. We also hope that we get help before we crash into a planet or the swarm finds us again.."

* * *

It was Saturday morning, when Alex woke up he just looked at the ceiling. There wasn't anything for him to do today. He probably could have just slept there all day. He was also still exhausted from his fight with Mugen. But, having to go to the washroom forced him up.

After doing his business, he made his way down for some breakfast. Along the way, he saw that Saki had fallen asleep on the couch. He just quickly prepared some food and sat at the island in the kitchen and pulled out a tablet to look some things online.

Even though he was sick, yesterday was so peaceful. But, there were two things that scared him right now. The first... No one seemed to remember that the Springtime Mall ever existed, or even knew about the monster attack. The second, a news report yesterday about an old demolished building in the downtown area. Despite no one remembering the previous monster, and the destruction of Springtime Mall being nowhere, this was different and it was everywhere.

There were a bunch of casualties too.

Isaac walked into the kitchen, and looked at Alex who was just going over everything on his tablet. "You're up?" Isaac said.

"Yeah." Alex sighed. "Wish I could get some more sleep, but after a full day of it, there's nothing that can put me down. Not to mention it seems like something has popped up. This is just too weird..."

"What's your plan?" Isaac asked.

"I think we should go and investigate this wrecked building." Alex replied. "Something is telling me it's different from the monster attack... Or maybe it was a monster and everyone forgets about it after the monster has been killed or sent back..."

Isaac just nodded in agreement. "Well, you're the boss..."

"I should be able to tell if we go there." Alex said.

Soon Saki and Zoroark had woken up, and Alex explained his plan. The two just nodded in agreement.

"Okay, but before we go, I just want to talk to Isaac about something in private." Saki said. "And we need to get supplies from our ship."

"Okay." Alex said. "But don't be too long."

"Understood." Isaac said.

Saki and Isaac just walked away. Eventually they got back to the ship, and Saki quickly closed the doors and did several scans.

"What's this about?" Isaac asked.

"I just needed to make sure that Zoroark wasn't following us." Saki said. "This really needed to be said in private."

"Really?" Isaac sighed. Saki just looked at Isaac a little annoyed. "Okay, fine, what is it?"

"When we came here, we had several jobs. Gathering information about this planet for the other Smashers when they came here. Find out the current status of Nugai."

"Why are you telling me this?" Isaac said, just glaring at Saki. "I know what our missions are."

"Master Hand also said that we were to observe Nugai's successor, and make the decision to eliminate him if he was too dangerous." Saki said.

Isaac just nodded, remembering that rather long briefing. "Find Nugai's successor, and possibly eliminate him if deemed too dangerous." Isaac sighed.

Saki nodded. "We met up with him, and we've fought a few battles along side him. But now, where do you stand?"

Isaac just looked at Saki a bit confused. "Where did this come from?"

Saki just let off a heavy sigh, and looked incredibly uncomfortable, and was struggling to actually get the words out. In all his time that he knew Saki, Isaac had never seen him like this. "I got a call from Samus last night. The have all been dispatched into this world." Saki said.

Isaac just nodded. "That's good, we got some backup now. We don't have to worry about taking on every little thing ourselves now."

"It's more complicated than that." Saki replied.

Isaac just raised an eyebrow. "More complicated?"

Saki just nodded. "I ask once again, where do you stand?"

"He doesn't seem dangerous at all." Isaac replied. "I don't see any reason to eliminate him. He has been nothing but helpful for us."

"I agree." Saki said. "And that's a problem."

Isaac just looked at Saki confused. "What do you mean that's a problem?"

"When I said it was complicated. That's the reason." Saki said. "Samus told me that Master Hand had told them that Nugai's proxy must now be eliminated. And that if we stand by him, they can eliminate us too."

"Or as well as they can eliminate us... We'll just become trophies." Isaac said. Becoming trophies was a safety precaution to protect the Smashers. If they were critically injured, they would become a nearly indestructible trophy. For them, they would just enter into a sleeping state. They would only be able to be reawakened by another Smasher. "Master Hand... What the hell is going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Saki replied. "It get's worse."

"How?" Isaac muttered.

"You know that serial killer that's been in the news around here." Saki said. "Master Hand is sending him against us."

Isaac just stared blankly at Saki. He clenched his fist and pounded the wall in frustration, leaving a rather noticeable dent. "Just what the hell is going through that Hand's mind?" Isaac snapped.

"I'd like to know that too." Saki said. "But knowing Master Hand, the only way we're going to get the answers we want, is if he stays alive long enough. Otherwise, the moment he's gone, he's old news, it won't matter to the mission at hand, and he won't answer it, he'll just cover it up, and it will be like Alex never existed."

"So we might get our answer and see why Master Hand fears him enough to do this if we stay here with him." Isaac laughed.

"Still, with everyone of the other Smashers attacking us, it could be dangerous..." Saki said. "Do we stay with him, or just let the first batch of Smashers who come after him eliminate him?"

"You know, I'm still kind of mad that we didn't get a holiday bonus this year." Isaac said. "If Master Hand is frustrated, and losing sleep over this, I'd say that's good revenge."

"Isaac, this is serious." Saki said. "Doing that would be incredibly petty. And we can't do this half assed or anything. We'll become the enemies of the Smashers by doing this."

Isaac just nodded. "I know." He replied. "If Master Hand is sending a serial killer after him to eliminate him, I don't think he's in the right state of mind to be able to tell who's qualified to be apart of this battle."

"Still, there's the chance that he might be worse than a serial killer." Saki suggested.

"I thought you were siding with Alex?" Isaac said confused.

"Sorry, it's just between the two of us, you're normally the thinker. I'm a shoot first, ask questions later kind of guy." Saki replied. "Still, there's not a whole lot that's worse than a serial killer, is there? And to be honest, we don't know a whole lot about the guy either. We barely know his name."

"Really just that he's Nugai's cousin, and he has a Zoroark." Isaac replied. "He can use aura... and has apparently been very sick in the past."

Saki just nodded. "Other than that, he's a complete mystery. Are you comfortable with possibly lying down your life for him?"

"You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?" Isaac sighed. He just looked out the window of the ship.

"Practically all night." Saki replied. "And what if we're wrong, what if Master Hand was right the whole time, and he turns out to be this terrible thing that leads to the destruction of all reality?"

Isaac was a bit shocked. In previous missions, Saki always took a different approach, he was always rather apathetic towards it. He'd get the job done, but he didn't particularly care about it one way or the other, to him it was just a way to get a pay check to support his family. But now, it was like he really was invested, although when said family was in danger, along with everything else he cared for, that was probably the reason for this sudden change.

"To be honest, I say we cross that path when we come to it." Isaac replied. "We can stop him, you can transform, or I could. Even if he's hiding something, together we would both be strong enough to kill him and stop him if that's the case. Right now, he's innocent of any crime, and Master Hand's actions are extreme and unwarranted. Beyond that, he's so far been the biggest asset in helping the Smashers fight against the worlds from fusing. But we'll have to see how the other people stack up against him."

Saki just nodded. "Okay then." He said. "I'm in agreement. I'll protect him until we have the full story, or he really does something that can be considered a threat. Now let's get some supplies."

The two just grabbed whatever they thought would be useful and quickly rushed back to Alex's house. They were soon traveling downtown to the destroyed building.

* * *

Noah approached the cave. He looked in and Lucas was sitting there. "Hey," Noah said.

Lucas just looked up. "Hey." He said rather defeated.

"Is something wrong?" Noah asked.

Lucas just nodded. "Yeah."

"You want to talk about it?" Noah asked.

Lucas just nodded. "I want to go back home, but I can't."

Noah just looked at Lucas a bit shocked. "Why? If you don't know where you are, you can come back to my house, and we can use google maps to find your house."

"It's a bit more complicated than that." Lucas admitted.

"You can tell me." Noah said. "We can still be friends, we can connect over the internet, and talk there..."

Lucas just nodded. "Maybe I will, later." Lucas said. "How was your night?"

"I had this strange dream." Noah replied. "This giant glove known as Master Hand was there and telling me along with 11 others that the fate of the world is at stake, and..." Noah just paused. He looked up at Lucas, who's face was filled with worry. "Afterwards, I kind of woke up and just looked up this stuff online, the Smashers, Master Hand, Super Smash Brothers. Its a fighting game with some of Nintendo's properties."

"Is that so." Lucas said. There was a bit of relief now in his voice.

"Yeah, there's a character named Lucas in the game too!" Noah said. "Although, you two really don't look that much alike. It's just he has blonde hair slicked up, and that's the only similarity."

Lucas just nervously laughed. "Is that so."

Noah just nodded. "Yeah." He said. "You'll probably think I'm crazy for saying this, but between that and the Biolizard attacking, I don't think its a dream. I think it's real."

Lucas just smiled and nodded. Deep down Lucas want to tell Noah that he had ran away from the Smashers, and everything that had happened, and how dangerous this really was. That it wasn't going to just be a safe walk in the park.

"But, that's not the most surprising thing." Noah said. "Apparently, some Smashers are coming to meet me! And they'll team up with me! But it's also a little scary, I'll be fighting monsters, and then there was what Master Hand said, that we're going to be taking part in a survival game..."

"What?!" Lucas shouted shocked, he was just looking at Noah in disbelief. "A survival game?"

"We have to find the others who have their 3DS and the ability..." Noah sighed. "And team up, or destroy the others 3DS... and there is one person that we have to eliminate no matter what..."

Lucas just was suddenly afraid and confused. "That doesn't sound anything like..." he muttered.

Noah just stared at Lucas confused. "Is something wrong?"

Lucas just nervously began to look around, and then his stomach began to growl. "Well, I'm actually a bit hungry." Lucas quickly said. "I ran out of food... and yeah..."

Noah just nodded. "Okay, come on, you can come back to my house. We can have hot dogs, or something."

Lucas nodded in agreement and the two began to navigate through the forest. Each of them actually rather silent. Lucas was worried since well, what Noah had said, that wasn't anything like Master Hand. "Could you tell me about this person that you're supposed to eliminate?"

Noah looked at Lucas a bit confused. "Well, he has his Smashers all ready. He's this guy and he was put in by someone named Nugai, so he's his proxy, and that's all I really know."

Lucas just looked a bit shocked. However, since Noah was leading the way, he didn't see Lucas' reaction. "Nugai... wasn't that the guy who we met with." He thought. Lucas suddenly froze. He could feel a pair of eyes watching him. "Noah, stop." Lucas said.

Noah just turned around. "Is something the matter?"

Lucas just nodded. "I just have this strange feeling that something is following us, or watching us." Lucas replied.

Noah just looked around, however he saw nothing. "Come on, it was just a dream." Noah said.

"Was the Biolizard just a dream?" Lucas seriously asked. "Was everything you told me just made up?"

"No." Noah said. "No, it happened."

"Do you believe that the dream was real?" Lucas said.

"Yes!" Noah replied.

"Tell me, do you play chess? Or know any strategy?" Lucas asked.

Noah just looked strangely at Lucas. "No..."

"Do you know the basics of chess?" Lucas wondered.

"Well, one of the teachers at school sort of explained the rules to us." Noah said.

"You understand the king's role right?" Lucas said. "It's the weakest unit and everything has to protect it, right?"

"Yeah..." Noah said.

"You're the king. You currently don't have any Smashers to defend you." Lucas said. "If you're supposed to be eliminating each other, and fighting, you're at a giant disadvantage. It would be 1 against 3 for any fights you're in if they come after you. They can quickly overpower you, and kill you."

"What?!" Noah replied shocked. "But... how can I avoid that?"

"Stay with people, if there are uninvolved people, especially large crowds, unless the people coming after you is a giant sociopath, they probably won't target you." Lucas replied. "Hang low. Maybe you shouldn't go outside beyond what's mandatory."

"But if I do that, how will we meet up?" Noah asked.

Lucas just bit his lip. Deep down, he wanted to say that they probably shouldn't meet up again. "I don't know, but I want to say, you shouldn't. If it's just one extra person, they might think that they can quickly separate the two of us to take you out. Or they might quickly knock that person out..."

Noah just looked a bit devastated.

"But, if someone attacks you while I'm present, I can fight too." Lucas said. "It might not look like it, but I can fight a bit."

Noah just nodded, "Thanks." He said.

"Come on, let's just go to your house." Lucas said. "Let's get something to eat, maybe it's the same with the others and they don't have their Smashers yet."

Noah just nodded. Lucas' hand reached up for his necklace, and he just pushed it against his chest tightly. "Life is funny." He muttered. He just turned around, and looked at the forest, and closed his eyes. He looked for whoever was there. He was positive that there was someone, or something watching over them. But he couldn't find it, he couldn't even find any brainwaves, or someone giving off thoughts. He wasn't that good at it like Ness, but he could still detect people. He just turned around and chased after Noah. "_I'll do my best to protect you Noah, even if that means I have to fight Ness._"

* * *

Alex parked the car, and soon walked out, looking for any sign of the monster, or what emerged. As they got close, they saw that the remains of the building and a bit of the surrounding area had been blocked off by police tape. No one was actually on guard, although Saki had given Alex a cloaking device, which he activated and went behind the police tape. He closed his eyes and looked down through the wreckage of the building.

He wasn't prepared for what he saw underneath. People were under the wreckage. Some were dead, but a few were still alive. "Saki, Isaac, Zoroark, we have to dig, there are people underneath there!" He shouted.

Zoroark cast an illusion, so that the rubble just looked like rubble. Isaac used his move Psynergy to move, things, and then they began to reach a few people. One looked absolutely terrified. They pulled him out. "Hey, are you all right?" Alex asked.

"Food... water..." He weakly muttered.

"We don't have any." Alex said. "But we can get you help. Just can you answer some questions."

The person just weakly nodded.

"Z, go call for help." Alex said. He then turned to the person that they recovered. "What happened here, was it a monster that emerged?"

"Monster?" The person said confused. "He was completely human..."

Alex just looked at the person confused. "Could it be another person like Mugen that came from over there? Was it a kid?"

"No, he was in his 20s... " the person replied. "He's that serial killer… he has to be…"

But then the person went silent. The next moment, Alex realized that he was dead. "What the hell?" Alex said shocked.

He closed his eyes, and used aura to search the area. The person in front of him had a strange aura mark on them, it was like a thick blotch of aura. Alex just quickly began to look around. Up on a building was someone looking down at them. He turned around and faced that building. "We have to go up there!" Alex said. "The person just attacked from up there."

"How?" Isaac wondered.

"I hope I'm wrong, but Aura..." Alex replied.

They all just looked at him rather shocked. "Another human can use Aura?" Isaac said.

"Did Nugai train anyone else?" Saki asked.

"I don't think so." Alex replied. "If he did, I'm positive I would have met him."

They ran to the building, Zoroark had been using a payphone, and quickly joined up with them, covering them all with an illusion so that they were invisible, and they quickly made their way up the stairs. "Wait, before we go any further, there's something we have to say." Saki said.

Alex just looked at Saki a bit shocked. "But, he might get away."

"No, he won't" Saki said. "He's waiting for us."

"And how do you know that?" Alex questioned.

"I think that person was sent by Master Hand. He might actually be the serial killer." Saki said. "He's here to actually kill you."

Alex just looked a bit shocked. "I see." Alex said. "Thanks for the heads up then, is there anything else that I should know?"

"Master Hand may want you eliminated for some reason." Saki replied. "There's a whole lot, and it may take a while to cover..."

"Then it can wait until later." Alex said, resuming climbing the stairs. It was quite clear that he was angry, as he occasionally stomped his foot down on a stair.

"Are you okay?" Isaac asked.

"I'm a bit surprised, and shaken." Alex replied. "But, right now is not the time for this. Even if he was sent to kill me from Master Hand, that doesn't matter. I can't forgive him for using aura to kill."

Saki, Isaac, and Zoroark just followed. Until they got to the doors, and then the roof. They just opened them. Saki and Isaac had rushed out first in the case that the person was going to try and ambush them, but that didn't happen. Instead, he was waiting, looking down at the city below. He was wearing jeans and a brown leather jacket. "So, you've come." He laughed.

"Are you the one who's responsible for all of that?" Alex asked.

"Responsible for what?" He asked.

"The destruction of the building? And the death of all of those people"

"And if I am?" He wondered.

"Tell me!" Alex snapped.

"Yes, I am." the person laughed.

"And you can use Aura?" Alex said.

"Aura? Is that what it's called?" He said. "All this time I never knew. I just thought it was some special ability that was gifted to me. But, I was surprised when I heard that there was someone else who had this ability, even in this city. "

"What's your name?"

"Hero." He said. "But I guess you're about to say you're no hero. Honestly, I hate my name, I hate how ironic it is."

"Are you the serial killer?" Alex asked.

He just laughed. "Of course." Hero replied. "You realize how boring life is? Killing people is so much fun. The look of fear on their faces as they die. They scream for help, but no one will ever come. No one can pin the blame on me, since I don't use any weapons... I can kill people at a distance, like you just saw. And I get to make their insides mush... Under normal circumstances, I don't think I would have killed you. But, someone told me to, so I think I will do just that..." He just pulled out a 3DS. "However, 4 against one is a bit unfair, don't you think?"

He rushed up to Alex, and touched him, followed by something on the 3DS. The next moment the two of them were warped away.

The next thing Alex knew was that he was on a different building roof. He just felt a bit nauseous.

"I'll give you a few minutes to get your bearings." He said, walking over to the corner. "I'm feeling quite sick too."

Alex went over to the ledge. They roof was fenced in. He did his best to look over. And then he saw a bunch of people down below. They had warped onto the top of an apartment building. He just collapsed in the corner, and looked up at the sky. He really hated heights.

"All right..." Alex said. "Before we fight, why did you do that? Why did you kill so many people?"

Hero just laughed. "That's what I do. I'm a Hero aren't I? I wipe out filth off of this planet."

* * *

**Flashback: November 17, 2006**

Hero had waited in a line all week for for this morning. He was going to get a PlayStation 3. He camped out all week, much to the fear of his parents, they didn't want him to, they were to afraid that something bad would happen. But he insisted that this would be the only way to actually get the PlayStation 3 for the next few months. He needed to have it. And soon the store would be opening.

Waiting out there with him were some other, and much older kids in college, also wanting to get it.

And then he got it. Due to not having his own car, and his parents working that day... he had to walk back to his house with it. It was double bagged so that no one could see it, and he got onto his block safely, however waiting for him there were some people he recognized from school. They had antagonized him before. They just surrounded him.

"Hero has been absent from school all week." One said. "And I came here to see if he was sick... but it looks like he was out buying a PlayStation 3 for us."

They forcefully dragged Hero away from the view of any houses, and began to beat him, in order to steal the PlayStation 3. They succeeded rather quickly, but they wanted to make sure that he was down and wouldn't follow him. "Give it back!" Hero said. "Give it back you bastards!"

He ran, only to get punched in the gut, and then fell to the ground, they began to kick him while he was down. And then, at these moments Aura awakened within him. Their attacks didn't seem to actually hurt him any more. They seemed to be going in slow motion. He got back up and fought back. Somehow they were all on the ground, and he was standing above them.

He just began to gasp for air, trying to figure out what happened. He looked at the one person who was still holding onto his PS3, he just walked over towards him. The person tried to run, but he was also moving in slow motion. He just walked right in front of the person, snatched the PS3 back and began to rapidly punch his stomach.

"Stop." The person begged.

"No." Hero replied. "You need to suffer more..."

The attacker was soon on a pile with the rest. He just stretched out his hands placing them on their chests. He envisioned their bones breaking, and they would break. They began to scream in a delicious agony that Hero just relished in.

And soon, that screaming stopped. He killed them all, and returned back to his house with his PS3...

Years passed, and he learned how to control his ability, he learned that it was called Aura. And he would go out hunting as a vigilante.

* * *

"Ha! A hero? You're just a murderer." Alex replied. "Using Aura for that, is quite frankly unforgivable."

Hero just laughed. "Tell me, boy? What should Aura be used for. We're some of the chosen people! We have the power and ability to do anything we choose! We can easily become invincible. Do you think this is some stupid comic book, and with great power comes great responsibility!? No, this is real life, this is the world where people are stepped on at all times, where those who don't have the ability are stuck in mediocrity! The rich get richer, and the poor stay the same! Only the chosen few can stand above it all! And now I have my way!"

Alex just glared at Hero. "So, you have power and abuse it." Alex said.

"That's what you say, but Master Hand himself wants you dead! I'm just doing his bidding. In this case, I really am the hero. Now then, fight me, or I will destroy this entire building!"

"Do you have any idea how many people could be hurt or killed?" Alex shouted.

"Like I care." Hero said. "I just want to fight you."

"Why?" Alex asked confused. "Why go to these lengths to fight me?"

"Because, you can use Aura too." Hero said.

Alex just looked at Hero a bit surprised. "That's it?"

"I need to know if my ability is the strongest. It's the first time I've had a chance to fight someone who had this ability." Hero said. "That's all. If you want to leave, you can jump off the building to your death. But the only way to live is if you can beat me, while trying to kill me."

Alex just looked at Hero shocked. He was insane.

Hero just rushed for Alex. He was much faster than he was anticipating, having used Aura to increase his speed. Alex wasn't ready for the first punch right in the stomach, and was suddenly sent flying back. The attack hurt, he was positive that some of the aura exploded inside of him. Alex just cringed. Besides fighting someone he didn't want to, he was also guessing his opponent was a sadist.

"Is this really the only way?" Alex asked.

Hero just scoffed. "Of course it is."

He rushed for Alex, and threw a kick. Alex this time was able to avoid it with relative ease. But there was some aura that hit him, and knocked him down.

"_He used aura to extend his range!_" Alex thought. He suddenly cringed.

"Come on, get serious." Hero said. "You must know how boring it is, just having aura, and never being able to find any thrills. Everyone being weaker than you. Being able to excel at sports. I thought I was finally about to get a decent challenge. But you're just trash. You were able to take on those monsters like this, what crap. Guess I might as well just drop out of this stupid game if this is the level of competition."

"Game? Competition?" Alex said annoyed.

"Weren't you aware. There are 12 chosen champions. You're just the 13th, an anomaly that I was tasked with getting rid of. That nutcase's proxy."

Alex just glared at Hero. "Don't you dare talk about my cousin like that!" He said.

"Oh, did I strike a nerve?" Hero laughed. "That loser, stuck in some insane asylum. And his only hope now is some sad and pathetic cousin who doesn't even know how to fight."

Alex just gritted his teeth. He could tell that Hero was baiting him. But it still pissed him off. "What?" Hero taunted. "Are you going to stop me from saying shit about him?"

Alex just clenched his fist.

"Come on, I can see you want to punch me! Do it!" Hero said.

Alex just got up off of the ground, and approached Hero. "Fine, but you asked for it!" he said as he delivered a punch squarely across Hero's jaw.

* * *

**Flashback:**

Alex was sitting in the back of his mother's car. She was currently driving, she occasionally glanced back at him, from the rear view mirror. He was doing his best to obscure himself from her, wearing a hood over his head, and trying to bury his face in his knapsack. She hadn't said a whole lot, other than she was a bit disappointed.

He had been suspended from school, for a fight and breaking the other person's jaw in the process. All things considered, he got off rather leniently, and had a less severe punishment, the only thing that was really protecting him was that the person he punched had been constantly baiting him. Mocking him, saying that his cousin was batshit insane, and had been essentially doing this in the presence of teachers and supervisors, thinking that he wouldn't actually bother to fight back.

"Does your mom get the ideas for her novels from his rambling? Does he also get to claim royalties?"

"Look at me, I'm going to go into the TV!"

"Did he realize he was a giant loser with nowhere to go, and just made everyone's tax dollars pay for his life now?"

But after one comment too many, he snapped and delivered a single punch that ended it. Thankfully a bunch of witnesses actually stepped forwards saying what happened. The major problem was the fact that he had broken his jaw. The other parents were absolutely furious about how their 'sweet little angel' was attacked, and when they found out that Alex was the cousin of the rather infamous Nugai... that was kind of just like adding kerosene to a fire.

"Is this guy a freak too? Is he a nutcase just waiting to shoot up the school!?" The mother said.

Alex just glared at her. Even as the staff explained that their son had been constantly harassing, him along with others. But that just fell on deaf ears.

"He just needs to get some thicker skin!" she said.

Alex had finally had enough. "Thicker skin is just that." Alex replied. "Thicker skin, it's just slightly tougher skin. It doesn't change that insults are thrown, or that things are said. If you keep lobbing stuff at it, even tougher skin will eventually break."

They actually had to isolate him in a vice principle's room while they tried to get the parents to leave. Alex just hugged his knapsack trying to find some comfort in it.

At that point in time, he was terrified. All ready he had learned that there was next to no privacy in his life. Because of his mother and her job as an author, and being rather famous. Tabloids would have a field day with this. They all ready had fun with his parents rather messy divorce, and his father's mistress, his half brother. He half expected them to have articles about how his mother was raising a delinquent.

But his mother wasn't mad. She just calmly asked why he had punched him, and Alex explained that he was saying rather nasty things about his cousin, and he had finally had enough. She just nodded, understanding that everything must be hard on him.

But his real scolding came when he visited Nugai one time. "You attacked someone with aura." Nugai said. "Breaking his jaw. You're rather lucky that it wasn't as worse as it could have been. I didn't teach you aura for that."

"I'm sorry." Alex muttered.

Nugai just glared at Alex. "I'm not going to say that you need thick skin, I understand where you're coming from, and I have to say that I had to endure a bunch of jackasses during my school years. But, I don't care what they say about me, and neither should you."

"But..."

"One day they may know the truth, one day they may not. Don't worry about such short term things as what people may think about me." Nugai said. "One day, it will be the time to fight, but until then, just endure with it."

* * *

Hero staggered backwards from the blow. Alex quickly followed it up with another punch, this one to hit the bottom of Hero's jaw. However, Hero jumped back to avoid it. Hero actually looked shocked. "You can fight?!" He said.

"Yeah!" Alex replied. "Now, then, you wanted a fight, fine! I'll give you a fight!"

Hero just smiled. "Good. It's just not any fun if they just give up..."

"You won't be saying that by the end of this fight." Alex replied, rushing in. He began to rapidly jab right for Hero's abdomen, however, Hero blocked the attacks and followed through with a punch of his own that connected, right in Alex's abdomen, winding him. Hero followed up by grabbing Alex's head and bringing down his forehead down to his knee. He just let Alex fall to the ground after that.

"You better start using aura for things other than defense." Hero said. "Especially if you want to beat me. I'm not a mindless monster."

Alex just began to get up.

"You know how to fight, at least, by that I mean, you know self defense. You've never been in a street fight before have you?" Hero laughed. "You're just some protected, sheltered boy who may of had some karate lessons." Hero kicked Alex in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground, and he just began to kick, again and again. Alex did his best to block the attacks with his arms, but with aura, it wasn't doing that much. Hero was using his Aura to break through Alex's aura guard. "There's no chivalry in a real fight! Anything goes!"

"Thanks for telling me!" Alex replied, rolling out the way of an attack, quickly getting up, and following through with a kick directly to Hero's crotch.

_**A critical hit!**_

_**It's super effective!**_

Hero fell down writhing in pain, his hands grabbing his crotch. Alex began to follow up with several more kicks. This time aiming for Hero's stomach. But after several attacks, Hero reached up and grabbed Alex's foot. Alex quickly broke his grip, and kept his distance. Hero just laughed. "I didn't think you were going to use a cheap shot like that."

"You said anything goes. I took that to heart." Alex replied.

"You cheeky little bastard." Hero muttered.

The two of them just stared at each other. Neither making the first move. "_My guess is that the kicks I just did do his stomach, didn't work, he probably had aura acting as a shield. In fact, so far I think he's just been toying with me, beyond offense and defense he hasn't been using aura. The real battle probably starts now_." Alex thought to himself. Alex blinked a few times, and now could see all of Hero's aura distribution. "_All right, let's see if he knows how to do this._"

Alex suddenly ran towards Hero, at a speed he wasn't anticipating. From Hero's perspective, it looked like Alex had disappeared. The next moment, Alex was right by him and had delivered a kick. This attack was reinforced by aura, and had sent Hero flying across the roof of the building. The next moment Alex appeared right where Hero was flying and delivered another kick, sending him across the roof once again. Alex quickly followed it up with a third kick this time sending Hero up into the air. In the back of his head, he was planning to follow up with a fourth attack to send him crashing down into the ground, however, he froze as he remembered that they were on top of a building. One that he could sense was populated. He couldn't do that without fear of collateral damage. There was also the problem that he just discovered that doing three of those quick flash step moves was currently his limit. His entire body was screaming out in pain.

Despite his mastery of aura, Alex had never really had the chance to practice this. A move as flashy, and took up as much space as this, required an empty field, and hoping that no one would be there to see him. Even with Zoroark's illusion, there was only so much he could do, he had gotten the flash step down perfectly, but the follow up, he was worried about destroy land, and people suddenly investigating why there was a crater, or hole, if the move was as strong as he thought it was.

In this case though, Alex was positive that it didn't matter. Hero was still a normal human. At that height, and speed he was now falling, upon impact with the roof, he'd probably die, or be severely injured.

However, suddenly he began to shoot aura out of his hands and feet. It stopped him from spinning and and he stabilized his control, allowing himself to float safely down to the roof of the building. Hero wasn't amused at Alex's attack.

"Instantaneous movement." Hero said. "You must of used aura to strengthen your body to survive speeds like that, and then also used aura to move much faster... A skill that I don't currently have, but it seems like you're at your limit!"

Alex just looked rather terrified. Hero had just figured out how his technique worked perfectly, after only seeing it once. But deep down, this also excited him. He rarely got a chance like this to fight and refine his techniques. A smile crossed Alex's face. "Limit? I'm just getting warmed up!"

Hero just laughed. "So am I." He began to breath in deeply. Alex could see that he was now using aura to reinforce every spot on his body. "Now I need to know, is my self taught style stronger than your learning under a master?" He laughed.

* * *

Saki, Isaac, and Zoroark just stared completely dumbfounded at where Hero and Alex had used to stand.

"How did he teleport away?" Saki said.

Isaac just gritted his teeth. "Master Hand did send him after Alex, so he might of given the power to teleport or something to a predestined spot. But thankfully, I made sure to have a Djinn looking after him. In the case we were separated somehow."

"Really?" Zoroark asked.

"Yeah, it allows us to keep an eye on you two while you're in school too." Isaac said. "You've got one too."

Suddenly a Djinn popped out of Zoroark's hair. It just let out a cute little squeak, before going back in. Zoroark looked a bit confused, and a bit afraid. "How come I can never feel it?" Zoroark asked.

"Djinn can become energy, and they go into you." Isaac replied. "Anyways, it should be easy to find him..." Isaac stretched out his hand, and another Djinn appeared.

"All right, I know where they are, let's go!"

They began to run towards the exit from the rooftop however Samus and Ganondorf suddenly appeared in front of them. "I thought you said you weren't working with him." Saki said annoyed, all ready having his cannon sword drawn and aimed at them.

"We aren't." Samus replied.

"Then move out of the way." Saki said. "Or are you still here under Master Hand's orders to eliminate us from this as well?"

"We came here to observe the fight." Ganondorf replied. "Nothing else." He just waved his hand and a portal appeared, "That will take you to their current location." Ganondorf however walked towards the railing on the roof.

Isaac looked at the portal rather suspiciously. He quickly sent a Djinn through it. "Looks like it leads to the right place." Isaac said.

Zoroark was the first to run through, just leaving the four Smashers on the roof. "Aren't you going?" Ganondorf wondered.

"How do we know you won't change the destination while we're in it?" Saki asked.

Ganondorf just sighed. "I do not want him to win."

"Who?" Saki asked. "The murderer, or the person we're looking after?"

"You should all ready know the answer to that." Ganondorf replied. "The one we were supposed to meet up with."

"Fine then." Saki said.

Saki and Isaac began to walk towards the portal. "Saki, Isaac, you've spent more time here than we have. Tell me, what do you think of this world?"

"We really haven't spent that much time in it." Saki said. "But, it lacks a lot of what our world has."

"If it came down to it, and only one dimension could survive, which one would you choose? Theirs or ours?" Ganondorf asked.

"I'd worry about that when it came to that point, there's no point actually wasting our time worrying about it right now." Isaac said. The two of them went into the portal. Samus followed.

"This world is so fragile, it will break soon." Ganondorf muttered turning around and walking into the portal.

* * *

Alex was gasping for air. The battle against Hero had gotten a lot harder, with the two of them constantly releasing aura. Alex was actually beginning to worry that with all the aura they were using, they would die before someone actually admitted defeat. He had been trying to avoid Hero's attacks, but it now seemed like Hero was getting frustrated.

Hero just pulled out a concealed knife. He held it in front of him. A twisted smile was across his face. His once cool and calm composer was gone. "I'll kill you!" He laughed hysterically. "I'll kill you, until you're dead!" He wasn't making sense any more. He was just a raving lunatic.

Alex just gasped for air. Everything had left him weakened. "Zoroark, Saki, Isaac. Someone, help me." Alex muttered.

"Beg for forgiveness, and I may leave you alive." Hero laughed.

"No, they won't always be there for me. I need to stand on my own two feet. I'm not going to die now." Alex muttered.

Hero charged towards Alex and swung the knife. Alex however jumped up into the air to avoid it, and kicked Hero square across the jaw. Hero fell to the ground and dropped the knife. Alex quickly rushed for the knife and grabbed it. He briefly thought about throwing it over the ledge, but not knowing who was underneath, and if it was going to hit anyone he stopped.

Hero just laughed. "You're weak, you can't do anything with that knife!"

Alex just held the knife tightly. "I can make sure you don't get it." He said. "Even if I don't use it."

"You've never killed anyone, have you?" Hero laughed.

"What sort of question is that?" Alex said. "Of course not?!"

"Tell me, are you willing to kill people to end this?" Hero asked. "Do you think I'll just be the only one you'll have to kill? I doubt it, people will want to profit from the worlds fusing, from both sides, this won't be an easy battle, and there will always be casualties. If you can't kill me then you're too weak."

Alex just looked at the knife. Hero took the few seconds that Alex was distracted to rush up to him, and quickly grabbed his wrist to make him drop the knife. Quickly Hero placed his hand on Alex's chest, Alex suddenly felt an explosion of aura inside of him. Hero began to rapidly punch Alex, until he fell to the ground. He then kicked him, making him slide across the roof.

Alex did his best to stand up. But now his whole body was screaming out in pain.

"How are you able to stand!" Hero shouted outraged. "You should be on the verge of death by now. You should be begging for me to spare your life!"

Alex just glared at him. "Your aura, it's weak." Alex said. "You were never formally trained by someone who could wield it properly. You have such a weak understanding of what aura is, and how it works."

Hero didn't like this. He rushed for Alex and threw a punch. Alex just dodged the attack, and the wall behind him exploded, revealing the stairwell. "You only use Aura for destruction." Alex said. "You just use it as a crutch to cover for your weakness!"

Hero threw another punch, this one actually hitting Alex, he went flying back, but just began to walk towards Hero, slowly shuffling forwards. Almost like a zombie.

* * *

Zoroark, Saki, Isaac, Samus and Ganondorf stepped out of the portal. Saki just looked rather frustrated at Ganondorf. "That took far too long!" He shouted.

"Sorry, but when four or more people enter, my portals can only be walkway from point a to point b." Ganondorf replied. "Even my magic has limits."

"I'd thought a long walkway would consume more magic." Saki said annoyed.

"You'd think wrong." Ganondorf replied. "Essentially it was just us going through a mirror universe, where nothing was there to act as an obstacle."

"Whatever." Saki said annoyed. They turned to face Alex and Hero who were still fighting. Well, fighting was probably not the right word. Alex was just walking forwards, while Hero was constantly throwing punches and doing whatever he could to try and knock him away, but after each punch and kick, Alex just got up again and walked forwards. Hero threw another punch, but this time it did nothing.

Hero just looked absolutely terrified. "Your aura has run out." Alex said. "It's over."

"You... It can't be over!" He shouted running for Alex. Alex just tripped Hero and he fell on the ground.

"It's over." Alex replied.

Hero could now see that Saki, Isaac, Zoroark, Samus, and Ganondorf had emerged from a portal and were watching them. "DO something!" He shouted. "You came here to protect me."

"We're not involved with you." Ganondorf replied, just standing back as Saki, Isaac, and a very angry Zoroark were walking towards him. Alex just stood there, Saki just patted him on the back.

"You did good holding out against him." Saki said. "But now, let us finish this."

Isaac on the other hand just began using some djinn to heal Alex.

"Thanks for coming guys." Alex weakly said.

Saki just pulled out the cannon sword and aimed it directly at Hero right between the eyes.

"Saki, I don't think he's suffered enough." Zoroark said, his claws now glowing. "I want to rip him to pieces."

"That's kinda harsh..." Saki said. "I say we just end it quickly. We just have to destroy his 3DS and it's over... Hey, where's your 3DS! Give it to us now, or your getting a bullet between your eyes!"

For the first time in his life, Hero felt absolute terror. The fear of dieing. It seeped into him and then, time seemed to stand still for him. He looked around, everything was frozen in place.

He soon found himself on that tower, overlooking the two worlds. "I'm here?" He said confused. Master Hand was just floating there in shock.

"You're about to die." Master Hand said. "You've failed. He beat you, everything is doomed."

"No, it's not over, not yet!" Hero shouted.

Master Hand just sighed. "Your body is at it's limit. You have one more chance, but you will not be able to survive that. But as long as you promise that you can kill him. I can give you that power..."

"I'll do it!" Hero shouted.

Master Hand just made his fingers into a gun, and shot Hero with a bullet right in the solar plexus. Hero went flying backwards. He soon found himself back on the building, with Saki's gun pointing at him. He just reached up and pushed the gun aside. Saki shot, but it was too late, Hero had moved the gun away from his head.

Saki looked somewhat shocked. He just swung his cannon sword down, however Hero caught the attack with his bare hand. He stood up and just looked at Alex, and Isaac.

"Crap..." Alex muttered.

Saki began to rapidly swing his cannon sword, however each time Hero blocked the attack with his bare hands. Zoroark also began to try and slash him with his claws, however Hero effortlessly dodged it.

"This is bad." Alex said.

"What's going on?" Isaac asked.

"It's the awakened aura state. At least that's what my cousin called it..." Alex replied.

Hero just kicked Saki away, Zoroark just jumped in front of Alex, to protect him.

Hero on the other hand just began to laugh. "I've awakened!" Hero laughed. "I've never felt like this in my life!"

Saki just rushed for Hero. Since swinging his cannon sword was useless, Saki's arm transformed, into a large monstrous arm. He swung it at Hero, this hit, and was strong enough to send him flying off of the building. Or at least that's what it seemed like, suddenly Hero was right behind Saki. He began to rapidly attack Saki, grabbing his arms, and actually ripping them off. Saki began to scream out in pain.

"Can you stand on your own?" Isaac asked.

"Barely." Alex replied. "But, I should be fine now."

"Good, sorry, but I've got to go help Saki." Isaac said. He drew his sword and ran right for Hero.

* * *

**Flashback:**

Isaac and Saki weren't always good friends. The first major mission that they took together was what brought them together.

Isaac was drinking some orange juice in the kitchen. He had been invited into the Smashers, not as a main Smasher but as something else. As Master Hand had explained it, he would be part of the more dangerous missions.

And today they were supposed to get a new recruit. Isaac went to greet him, and even offered to help him.

"Like I need help." Saki said, walking away.

Saki was selfish, and didn't get along with anyone. He stayed by himself, his only social interaction was just doing the required training with others. Such as sword training. "Come on!" Saki said blocking an attack from Isaac's sword. "My son is more of a threat than you!"

"The purpose is to just practice sword techniques against an actual opponent." Isaac replied. "Not kill each other."

"You wouldn't be able to do that anyways." Saki laughed, trying to get Isaac angry. However, Isaac was able to remain calm. Through out training, the one that was getting more and more frustrated was Saki. Eventually, training was over. Nearly every training exercise was like that. Many of the other Smashers were outright refusing to work with Saki, so that Isaac just grudgingly became his partner.

That was until one day Master Hand had called both Saki and Isaac up to his office for a mission.

"Saki, Isaac." Master Hand said. "I have a mission for the two of you."

"You can just send me in alone." Saki said. "I'll take care of it."

Isaac could tell that, despite lacking eyes, Master Hand was now glaring at Saki. "No." He sternly said.

Saki seemed to have gotten the hint.

"We have traced some activity, that we believe is from Zenith." Master Hand said. He began to motion to a map on the wall. "Here in this canyon. They've been able to hide mostly, you two are to infiltrate, and relay information back to us. And then get out. We will decide upon further actions from there. Only engage in combat at an absolute last resort. Do you understand?"

"Understood." Isaac said. He glanced over to Saki, who seemed to have gone white.

"U- u- understood." He stuttered out.

"Very well, you are dismissed." Master Hand said.

Saki and Isaac just turned to walk out of the room, they made their ways through the hallways. "Saki, can I ask you something?" Isaac asked.

"Leave me alone!" Saki snapped.

Isaac was a bit surprised by this. He just let Saki go be on his way, while secretly sending a Djinni to follow him. He was a bit nervous that Saki was going to do something reckless. Isaac himself went to prepare for the mission, about 30 minutes after they separated, a Djinni appeared in front of him.

"Isaac, Saki has gone down to the ships!" it said.

Isaac just quickly rushed through the mansion getting down to the ships, and soon finding Saki outside of one.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Isaac said.

Saki just looked at Isaac and reached for his cannon sword. He just aimed it right at Isaac. "I'm going to go complete this mission, alone." Saki replied.

"If you do that you're only going to succeed in getting yourself killed." Isaac replied.

"Oh yeah?" Saki said. "What makes you say that?"

"You went completely white when Master Hand mentioned Zenith." Isaac replied. "Something tells me, you know a lot more than you are letting on."

Saki was suddenly consumed with rage and fear. He just shot at Isaac, who quickly dodged to the side. Quickly Saki began to run, Isaac tried to follow, but every so often, Saki would turn around and shoot at him, causing him to quickly find cover. However soon Saki had found himself at a dead end. He just turned around to see Isaac right there. Quickly Saki got into a fighting position.

"Don't bother resisting." Isaac said. "I've all ready called for backup. They will be here in a few minutes. It would be much easier if you just turned yourself in."

Saki just retaliated, lunging and swinging his cannon sword at Isaac, who was forced to block his attacks. Much to Isaac's surprise, Saki was coming at him with the intention to kill. Isaac just did his best to fight back. "Finally you're showing me your true strength!" Saki said.

Isaac was beginning to get pushed back. In a moment of desperation, he had thrust his sword forwards, impaling Saki, and pinning him to the wall. Saki let go of the cannon sword, and just let it drop to the ground. He weakly laughed. "You didn't call anyone did you?" He muttered.

"No." Isaac said.

Saki just weakly smiled. He reached for the sword and just pulled it out of him.

"Stop!" Isaac said.

Saki just pulled the sword out and collapsed on the floor. He threw the sword a few feet away. He reached for his canon sword, but Isaac had all ready knocked it away.

"Listen, we'll get you medical help."

"I don't need it." Saki said rather dismissively.

Isaac could only just stare at him in shock. "What do you mean you don't need it? I just impaled you with a sword."

"I'll heal." Saki replied. "In fact, I'm all ready healing." Isaac just looked down to see the wound slowly closing up. "I told you you wouldn't be able to kill me."

"What's going on?" Isaac asked, leaning back against a wall, and sliding down it, so that he was now sitting on the ground beside Saki.

Saki just shook his head. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes." Isaac replied.

"You're awfully pushy." Saki said. "I hate people like you."

"I can call everyone, and tell them what just happened, or you can tell me, and then I'll make the call." Isaac said.

"You're blackmailing me." Saki laughed. "But fine. Want to know why I went completely white at the mere mention of Zenith? I'll tell you. I used to be a lab rat for them."

Isaac just looked rather horrified at Saki. "What?" He said.

"You remember Ruffians?" Saki asked. "They were bio-engineered to be a food source to help with third world countries. But, they mutated, and became violent."

Isaac just nodded. "I heard something like that."

"That mutation, wasn't an accident." Saki replied. "It was completely intentional by Zenith, they wanted bio-weapons, and they got them. They then just rounded up some orphans on the street, and tried experiments with the ruffians on them."

"And you're one of those..."

"Pretty much one of the last few surviving members." Saki replied.

"But how?" Isaac said. "All information regarding Zenith is that they keep a close eye on anyone that's in there. You'd have to be dead to escape."

"They thought I was dead." Saki replied. "I was stabbed just like that, but with something much bigger, it looked like my healing wouldn't kick in because of some poison. And then I was disposed of. My body healed itself, but it took a while. And then I escaped."

Isaac just nodded. "All right. I won't report you."

"Why not?" Saki asked. "I could be lying about that?"

"You could, but I trust you weren't." Isaac said standing up, he just stretched out his hand. "If you truly know the horrors of Zenith, and what they do, I think you now know that the best course of action is to work together with us."

Saki just looked at Isaac a bit shocked. He stretched out his hand and grabbed Isaac's, and the two began to walk away.

Within a few hours they were sent out on their mission. They found themselves in a canyon. Quickly Saki and Isaac put their Bluetooth headsets in their ears. "Are you ready?" Saki asked.

"About as ready as I'll ever be." Isaac replied.

The two of them quickly split apart and began to move forwards. "2000, meters ahead." Saki said.

"We should be careful." Isaac said. "From what I could see from the air, this is certainly a high tech facility. They will probably have some security measures."

"I know." Saki replied.

They rushed in, avoiding security cameras and quickly taking out security guards. They slowly infiltrated the place, making their way deeper into the bunker. Soon they came across a storehouse for weapons. They just looked around completely shocked. Isaac quickly began taking pictures to send to Master Hand. "Whatever they're preparing for, I don't think we're going to like it." Isaac said. "We need to pull back."

"Agreed." Saki said.

They began to go through several halls, however suddenly an alarm began to go off.

Quickly they hid in some rooms. "Crap." Saki muttered.

Isaac just quickly checked something. "Our mission objective has changed." Isaac said. "We have to go back to the weapons storeroom."

"What?" Saki said a bit shocked.

"We have to destroy it." Isaac replied. "We won't be able to launch an attack and destroy this place any more, now that they know we've been here. And we can't risk the place being emptied now."

Saki just nodded. They pulled out several bombs that they had been given, and quickly made their way through the base. They actually made their way to a hanger. They quickly hid and saw a bunch of armed guards escorting a woman who was wearing a blueish greenish dress. She had brown hair.

"It can't be..." Saki muttered.

She stopped walking and just glanced at where they were hiding.

"Miss, we have to get going."

"Yes, of course." She said, continuing to walk forwards. "We don't want those ruffians who are causing trouble and knocking out our guards to catch us..."

They waited several moments when they were clearly in a ship. "Shit, she knows we are here." Saki said.

Isaac just glanced at him. "You seem like you knew who that was."

"If that's who I think it was, her name is Achi." Saki said. "It was her blood, she made the ruffians... she..." He began to gasp for air and panic. Isaac just quickly did his best to calm Saki down. After several minutes Saki had returned back to his normal self. He just nodded. "Okay, I'm ready."

They quickly began to place several smart bombs on several of the other vehicles in the hanger. They made their way out and into the armory, placing several more smart bombs. After several minutes they headed back into the hanger to try and escape. However waiting for them was a lot of guards. Each of them aiming guns at them. They quickly began to shoot, however Isaac quickly summoned up some spires that blocked the bullets. Saki and Isaac quickly took cover behind some metal crates.

"Achi must of told them where we were hiding." Saki said.

Isaac just nodded. "I can't really think of a way to get out of this one. We're just going to have to fight through all of them and hope for the best."

Saki nodded. "Why don't we set off those bombs now?"

Isaac just looked a bit surprised, but just nodded. "Okay, yeah that can work." He took out a device and activated all of the bombs. All around them they could hear constant explosions. After the explosions had finished, the two of them got up, there were still a large amount of guards around them.

They did whatever they could to survive.

Eventually when they had killed all of their attackers, the two of them were left lying on the ground exhausted. The whole building was now in flames from the bombs explosions. "Crap." Saki muttered. "I don't want to die like this."

"Neither do I." Isaac added on.

"You know, you're not half bad."

"Neither are you." Isaac laughed. "Listen, you said you had a kid?"

"Yeah."

"My wife is expecting..." Isaac said. "Any chance you could give me some advice."

"I'll try, but that's only if we live through this." Saki said.

* * *

Isaac fell over defeated. Saki had regenerated his limbs, and attacked Hero, but he was quickly overwhelmed. Soon Saki was also on the ground unconscious. Zoroark rushed for Hero as a last ditch effort to protect his Master.

"You're not even a Smasher." Hero said "Why are you here..."

Zoroark was quickly over powered and beaten.

Alex just looked horrified at Hero. Hero just tossed Zoroark aside and began to walk towards Alex. "I just destroy your 3DS, and it will all be over. You can end there suffering now, or you can watch as they continue to scream for help!"

"What happens when my 3DS is destroyed?" Alex asked.

"Not too much." Hero replied. "Your memory is erased, and those three will go back to your world. You'll go back living the way you were. You'll be all alone."

Alex just froze. "Alone." He repeated. It was a word he knew all too well. A word that he greatly feared.

* * *

**Flashback:**

He could never forget the pastel colored walls of the hospital room. The place that he had been confined and hooked up to so many different machines. It was bright, but the feelings that he had in there was anything but. He kind of preferred a room with a few other beds, where there was at least some other kids or people to talk to. He hated the private room. It was always so lonely, but considering his mother, she had the money to pay for it. And the privacy wasn't so much for him, it was for her.

On his better days, he was able to walk around a bit to the other rooms, and talked a bit with the other kids in the wing.

But there were days when he was weak, and barely able to walk. He was confined to his bed, and the only hope of seeing someone his age was around the end of the day, hoping that a classmate would come to bring him some new homework. He was unusually bright and happy when that happened.

"Thanks for bringing my homework." Alex laughed.

"Geeze, you're stuck between going to the hospital and being isolated at your house for who knows how long, and you're still doing homework?"

"Well, when I get better, I'm going to have to go back to school, and I'd rather not miss a lot." Alex replied. "Not to mention, I don't want to repeat any years or anything."

"Still, if I was in your shoes, I'd milk this for all its worth. I wouldn't do homework, I'd just play video games all day..."

Alex just sighed. "That gets boring after awhile." he said.

"Still, I don't know how you can catch up and learn all this though."

"Well my cousin is acting as my tutor." Alex said. "He's been really helpful..."

"The teacher is honestly impressed. She's been singing nothing but praise for you, hoping that we would be as determined and get our grades up. It's really annoying." He laughed. "Still, what does your cousin do? To have so much spare time to tutor you?"

"He's rich..." Alex laughed. "He won a few lotteries, and well, he says he has nothing better to do, and might as well just help with the future generations. He brings over his video games and we play them too..." Alex glanced at the GameCube that was currently connected to a TV. "Speaking of which, would you like to play some?"

"Sure."

The times that he played video games with others were some of the happiest that he had during his long hours of loneliness. The doctors were never interested in him, just in the unknown disease that he had. Just if there was a cure. He was just nothing more than a lab rat to them. They were cold, always talking down, saying things like he wouldn't understand, and acting like they didn't see him.

Thankfully, there were quite a few visitors.

But one by one they stopped coming to see him in the hospital. The first was his own father. Over the past year his parents had divorced, his father had an affair with another woman, and had a son. He was still occasionally in contact with Alex, and there was the odd weekend that he spent with him and his half brother, before he was hospitalized. He was there quite a few times, but slowly the gaps in between visits became bigger. Alex never liked the woman that he was now engaged to, and she seemed to have a rather large hatred for him. He imagined that she was pressuring his father, saying that he was spending too much money on hospital parking, and not enough time with her. Then one day, he never visited again.

His other family members began to stop coming. Aunts, uncles... Eventually it was only his mother and Nugai who came to see him.

The friends from school, they stopped coming. Only the teacher came to pick up tests, homework, and assignments. The teacher would only look at him for a few seconds, explain the next batch of assignments, and then walk out. Most likely a bit annoyed at the money that he'd have to spend for the parking at the hospital.

Alex was alone, he was empty. And he began to fall into despair. His only solace was playing some video games. But they hardly did anything besides just distract him from his loneliness.

And slowly loneliness became his only friend.

"Hey, Andrew..." Alex said one day. "Why are you spending all this time with me?"

His cousin just smiled. "Because I want to." Nugai replied.

Alex just looked down at the hospital sheets. "That's a lie."

Nugai just looked at Alex a bit shocked. "Why would you say that?"

"You don't want to be here. You're always thinking about something else," Alex said. "You hate the hospital."

"You're picking up on everyone's habits."

"And your aura tells the truth..." Alex continued. He just looked up at his cousin. "Why do adults lie to kids?"

Nugai sighed. "I guess there are many reasons. The world, is a cruel and unforgiving place, with many hardships and tragedies. And yet, despite that, Children are innocent, unaware of those things. Adults may want to protect those children from the cruel truth. But that in itself is a paradox. Children eventually have to grow up, that is inevitable. So, they lie until they think they are ready, yet at the same time, they forget what they knew at that age. That's what I think at least."

"I can hear the doctors talking about me." Alex muttered. "They aren't sure what's going on, but they're saying I'm taking a turn for the worst. I'm going to die aren't I?"

The air had become much heavier in the room. Nugai just closed his eyes. "Beyond the beaten path lies the absolute end. It matters not who you are, death awaits you." Nugai replied. "That is the cruelest truth in the entire world. It is the fate of all things to die, but, I know you're strong, you'll live though this."

"Are you just saying that to keep me happy?" Alex asked.

"No, I promise you'll live." Nugai said.

"You're not a doctor." Alex muttered. "How would you know?"

"I just do." Nugai replied. "But let's get off this subject. What do you want to do when you get out of here."

"If I get out of here." Alex muttered.

Nugai just sighed. "_When_ you get out of here." He stressed the first word.

Alex just froze, suddenly he was overcome with emotion and began to cry. "Why?" He asked. "You and mom are the only ones who haven't given up on me?"

"I'll always be there for you, little bro." Nugai said. Alex just glanced up at Nugai at the mention of the words 'little bro', he only really called him that when they were alone. "You must be so lonely here."

"Yeah..." Alex admitted. "I'd like to go camping again this summer, just like last summer..."

Nugai smiled. "I'd like to too. But, you need to be healthy enough to leave this place. If you are, I promise I'll take you once again..."

* * *

Alex began to force himself up. "I won't be alone again."

Hero just laughed. "Come on, you can barely stand! You think you can stand up against me?"

Alex cringed in pain. "I don't know." Alex said. "But, I won't let you take away everything that I hold dear without a fight! Besides, if I can't beat you, what hopes do I have with the trials ahead?"

Hero just glared at Alex. "There is no hope for you, it's all over."

"No." Alex replied.

"Then I'll crush you with everything I have!" Hero laughed.

"I'll endure everything you have! Like I've endured everything else life has thrown at me!" Alex shouted.

There was just silence. "I see." Hero sighed. "Very well then." He rushed for Alex and was ready to punch him. "Then prepare to die!"

However someone jumped in front of the attack and blocked it. He just wore a cloak, and all Alex could focus on was his bare feet. Alex looked up, and the person had put his hand on his head. Suddenly a warm energy washed over him. He was slowly getting back energy.

"Hero, was it?" The person in the cloak said. "Kind of disappointed in how weak that attack is, after seeing all of them defeated."

"Who are you?" Hero asked.

"Andrew, why are you here?" Alex asked.

"I wanted a front row seat to the show I guess." The cloaked person said. "That and if you continued battling here, well, you've attracted enough attention, so we're going to have to do a quick disappearing act."

He snapped his fingers and then they were all teleported away, in front of them appeared several monitors with video footage of the building they were on. "And three, two, one." the cloaked person said. Suddenly security forces came onto the roof, from the ruined stairwell. "As strong as you are Hero, in your weakened state, they probably would of been able to subdue you, and personally, I can't let that happen."

Hero threw a kick at the person, however a barrier just appeared, and Hero was sent flying back. "Interesting..." The cloaked figure said, walking towards Hero. "You've awakened fully... yet it's kind of disappointing..."

"Who the hell are you, and what the hell is this place?"

"I'm Nugai, and this person is my proxy." Nugai said. "As for where you are, well, have you ever played Star Fox Assault?"

For the first time Alex looked around. They were floating up in space. There was clearly a force field around them and this space There were colored blocks that were scattered across the place. There were two block building structures of each color. Red, blue, green, yellow, and gray.

"I recreated this area from it's versus mode for fights." Nugai explained. "Of course, it's two separate stages, merged into one, but that's only a small detail. Here you can fight to your heart's content, and not have to worry about being captured afterwards, or having it interrupted. Or even collateral damage. I figured this place might be more suitable."

"You created this?" Hero said. "I've changed my mind. I don't want to kill him any more, I want to kill you."

He began to run towards Nugai, however he suddenly stopped, and just stared at Nugai in fear. "I'll tell you what, if you can beat Alex here, you will continue in the game, and eventually you might be strong enough to fight me, Hero. Now then, I'll heal Alex up, and you can start from the beginning again."

"What?!" Hero shouted.

"Alex was holding back because of the fear of collateral damage. Don't worry, I'll heal you up as well, so you can both fight at your full potential." Nugai smiled.

"You want your proxy to die?!" Hero laughed.

"Hey, Master Hand, I know you're watching this and had all ready interfered once, get down here and heal Hero." Nugai said ignoring Hero. Suddenly Master Hand appeared and with him was two fairies in bottles. He tossed one at Nugai who just caught it and handed it over to Alex. Both Alex and Hero opened it and their energy began to get restored.

"Listen, Alex, I'm going to heal Saki, Isaac, or Zoroark." Nugai calmly said. "But, it's just going to be you against Hero."

"What?" Alex said a bit panicked.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Nugai smiled. "They will be watching the fight and cheering you on. So, don't hold anything back, and you will be fine." Nugai said.

"But, he's in that awakened state, like you can use." Alex said.

"It will be fine. Remember, Aura is alive." Nugai said. "It is always evolving. Ultimately mastery comes down to how you use it. Alex, he may be stronger than you, but you can win. His aura is blunt, and straight forwards. He always does the same motions, the same movements, his aura is stagnate. His greatest strength is his greatest weakness. Figure him out, and you will be victorious."

"Do you really mean it?!" Alex asked

"Yeah." Nugai replied. He just ruffled Alex's hair. "You'll be fine. Trust me."

Alex just nodded.

"That's all the advice I'll give you."

Nugai just began to walk towards Master Hand and Hero. "All right, he's all healed up, it will just be one versus one right now."

"In that case you should be able to win. Don't let your guard down no matter what." Master Hand said.

Hero just laughed. "You allowing me to be healed was your biggest mistake. I'll crush you after I crush your cousin."

"I look forwards to that." Nugai laughed. "Master Hand, I hope you've said all that you need to."

"Yes." Master Hand said.

"The fight will begin in three minutes!" Nugai shouted. "Don't start fighting until you hear the voice say go."

"Three minutes? Why?" Hero asked.

"It's just the adjustment peroid." Nugai said. "Just a normal thing to make sure you both strech and are ready for a fight."

"Fine!" Hero laughed. "Watch as I kill your proxy."

"You keep saying that." Nugai laughed rather amused. "You felt the depth of my power for a few seconds... My proxy is just like me. Although his power hasn't fully awakened yet, and most likely won't for a while. But, I guess this would be your best chance. Besides, your biggest mistake was making him angry." He began to walk away, however he just quickly turned around and then whispered something into Hero's ear. "And besides, your aura is weak. I'm quite disappointed, when I gave you the gift of Aura, I was expecting you to grow into someone much stronger..."

"What?!" Hero shouted frustrated.

"It's the truth." Nugai replied, just walking away.

Nugai entered the area that Saki, Isaac, Zoroark, Samus and Ganondorf were standing in. It was a floating room up above. Along the walls were several monitors that were showing the fighters at different angles. He just looked at all of them. "Seems Master Hand is watching from somewhere else. I guess that would just make the air awkward in here, but you realize you're going to have to answer to him some time."

Ganondorf just laughed. "Yeah." He said. "I'm ready for that."

Nugai just looked out at Hero and Alex. He pulled out a watch, and counted down the time. When 3 minutes had passed, he just said. "Go."

Alex and Hero just began to rush for each other. Alex however suddenly disappeared, a moment later he was right beside Hero and delivered a kick sending him flying right into a structure.

Hero suddenly just laughed, amused. "So, this is your power! With no fear of collateral damage..." He pulled himself out of the structure and just looked forwards at Alex. "This is going to be fun!"

* * *

Roy and Ness had found the person they were supposed to meet up with, however, that person currently had to attend a part time job. So, Roy was currently in the ship, trying to pass time. Ness on the other hand had locked himself in his room, and was trying to find Lucas, at least through a telepathic link.

But, that was proving to be quite hard. There was nothing else, no one was giving off any psychic waves to interfere. All Ness could think about right now was that Lucas doing his best to block any psychic waves that he let off, out of fear of being tracked. There was also the possibility that Lucas didn't come to this world, but something deep inside Ness was telling him that Lucas was indeed here. There was also the possibility that Lucas was dead... But Ness just shook his head. "No." He told himself, trying to dismiss the thought. He knew that Lucas was strong and would survive somehow. "Lucas is a Smasher! He's alive. I can find him! I will find him!" He would occasionally punch his hand against the wall in frustration, it was loud enough that outside of the room, Roy could hear it.

Ness' hand reached up to his Smash Pendant. He just looked at the stone for several seconds. Even that wasn't working, and that was supposed to point to wherever you requested it to. He knew there was nothing that Lucas could do to block this. "Show me where Lucas ran away to!" He requested once again. But the fire arrow didn't appear. Ness just pounded his fist against the bed. "Damn it Luke. What are you doing?! How are you doing this?"

Outside of the room, Roy was talking to Marth on his cell phone.

"I kind of wish Ness would talk to me. We're supposed to be partners for this mission, but he's locked himself in his room, and now I think he's kind of homesick." Roy said, bluffing.

"All ready?" Marth replied. "We haven't even been in this world for 24 hours."

"I know!" Roy laughed. "You know he calls his mother nightly, but I guess we don't get any cross dimension reception. Anyways, we found our person."

"Same." Marth replied.

"But this job and school thing that he explained to us..." Roy sighed. "I'm hoping nothing attacks during it."

"Yeah." Marth sighed. "And only those people can open the portal to send monsters back..."

"Listen, Marth, can I ask you something?" Roy said.

"Sure, I guess." Marth replied.

"It's about what Master Hand said, about Saki and Isaac." Roy said.

"You don't feel like it's right." Marth said.

"Yeah." Roy replied. "They're our allies, and our friends, if we attack them under orders of Master Hand, they won't trust us, and when they go back, that might make things disastrous. There has to be another way."

"Do you believe that the person they found is as dangerous as Master Hand says?" Marth said.

"Well, since I haven't met him yet, that's kind of hard to judge." Roy replied. "But, I don't think Master Hand knows that for sure. In fact, we could be making the mistake if we start fighting and enraging him, we could cause him to become that person that Master Hand fears."

"And what's your course of action?" Marth wondered.

"I kind of want to meet him for myself, and befriend him." Roy laughed.

"Of course you would, Roy. But, I guess I'm the same." Marth replied. "But I guess that is ultimately up to the chosen champion."

"Yeah." Roy said. "I'm getting a feeling that Master Hand is just making a giant self fulfilling prophecy."

* * *

Alex went flying back and crashed into a tower. Hero had suddenly seemed to get much stronger.

In fact, Hero was much stronger than he had been anticipating. Everything seemed different with him now. Now it just seemed like Hero had no regard to even his own survival. Quickly Alex dashed away, and tried to hide underneath a structure that seemed like a Yellow bridge. "You can't hide!" Hero said, having been right behind him.

Quickly Alex tried to distance himself. But Hero was always right there, keeping up with him. Hero just stretched out his hand and suddenly the next thing Alex knew was that his back was against a wall.

Suddenly Hero began to rapidly send explosions of aura right into Alex. The structure behind him, being cracked from the ferocity of the attacks. After about thirty, and the structure being destroyed, Alex fell down onto the ground. Hero just began to walk away.

"It's over!" Hero laughed.

Alex however just began to get up. "How are you still alive?" He said rather frustrated. "All of your internal organs should have exploded. You should be attempting to beg for mercy in your last few moments!"

"I don't know." Alex replied. He just looked forwards at Hero's back. "It hurts like hell, but at the same time... I can't give up."

Hero just turned around and began to rapidly attack Alex with everything he had.

* * *

Up above, in the room, everyone was just watching. "What's going on?" Samus asked. "If the attack destroyed the structure, how is he still able to stand?"

Nugai just looked down. "Hero just did what he always did with aura, he used it to attack. However, against someone else who can wield aura, his strategy is pointless."

"What do you mean?" Ganondorf wondered.

Nugai just stretched out his hand, suddenly an aura sphere appeared. "Think of the human body as a juice dispenser. And aura as a drink inside. It has a certain limit, and filling it with more aura will cause it to explode. That's how Hero killed everyone of his victims. However, against an aura user, or one who has trained to use aura, its quite a different story."

"How so?" Ganondorf asked.

"The body produces a set amount of aura, the first thing that I learned, and taught him was how to control all the aura in your body. Collect it, and stop the aura from escaping from you." Nugai said. "I worked on increasing the container for aura with him. By rapidly losing and gaining aura the body builds up some more ability to store it. Also with training, the body subconsciously knows what to do with the excess aura, and how to deal with it. All he was doing was just pouring more juice into the rather large dispenser. In the event that there is too much aura in him, his body can quickly get rid of some so he's safe. Of course, that doesn't mean that the attacks are completely ineffective. Theoretically, there is a breaking point, it's just who's going to reach it first."

"Let's hope Hero breaks first." Saki said. "I'm feeling these blows from over here. This is just getting too painful to watch."

"I'm hoping for the opposite." Nugai said.

Everyone just looked at him like he was crazy. "What?" Isaac said. "If Alex breaks first..."

"Hero is all ready at his limit. He can't go any further, he can't evolve." Nugai said. "Alex on the other hand, just needs a push that will make him stronger. He needs to awaken. If he breaks, he can pull himself together. The same can't be said for Hero. Hero is all ready broken, being held together by glue that is quickly failing. Master Hand just applied the glue as a last gambit to get rid of him... This battle was all ready over before it began, it's just will two be eliminated, or one?"

* * *

Hero tossed Alex down to the ground, where he once again struggled to get up. Alex just began to laugh. Heros' attacks had now greatly weakened. But Alex was also reaching his limits, he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on. He just looked up at Hero who was gasping for air, and smiled.

The smile just pissed off Hero even more. He rushed forwards, however he suddenly froze. Alex began to produce an aura sphere and was ready to launch it right at him. Alex's vision however began to get blurry. He couldn't focus. Hero could walk up right beside him and he wouldn't be able to notice. He had nearly reached his limits.

"No!" Alex thought. "No, I cant' run out of aura, I can't..."

A smile crossed Hero's face. He realized that Alex's aura sphere was a bluff. "It looks like it's all over." Hero said, walking towards him.

Alex couldn't even register him. He was losing consciousness fast.

The next thing he knew was that he was up in the air and crashing down into the ground. He landed on his arm in a funny way, there was an audible snap, and a lot of pain.

Using his one non broken arm, Alex tried to charge the aura sphere, but all of the pain was too much.

Hero just began to approaching him once again, he was sent flying into another structure, and then he crashed down to the ground. This time Alex could only look up at the sky.

He stretched out his hand, reaching for the planet that was projected there. It wasn't earth, but it was nearly all white. In his hand, he produced an aura sphere, it was all the aura he had left in his body. "Aura is alive, you can mold it and shape it to whatever you please. It has no limits." He remembered his cousin's words from so long ago, back when he was learning it. "The only limit is your imagination."

"I have one last chance." Alex muttered. "If this doesn't work..." His attention turned to the aura sphere. He wanted it smaller, crushed together, more compact. Bit by bit, the aura sphere began to get smaller, until it was about the size of a small gumball. He just took it in his hand and put it in his mouth, and swallowed.

Hero had gotten to the top of the structure. "It's over." He laughed, pulling out another concealed knife. "Now where is your 3DS? Maybe I just need to stab you all over until I find it." However he couldn't move, all Hero could do was looked rather terrified at Alex as his hair turned white. "What? How?"

Alex forced himself up, and just began to laugh. "Tell me, Hero, are you familiar with blood doping?"

"In sports, they remove some blood a few weeks before, and put it back in before the competition to allow for more red blood cells to enhance oxygen to the muscles." Hero replied.

Alex just nodded. "I just did that with aura. Or at least something similar. Taking out and reabsorbing aura."

"But you should have been at the end of your ropes." Hero said. "Your body shouldn't have any aura, and producing it takes time."

"Yes, and no." Alex replied. "It's true, I had very little aura left in me, but you're attacking with aura, and aura doesn't just disappear here. The air here is charged with aura from you, and from other things. The time the body also produces the most aura is during a fight. So you see, I drew in aura from the environment, to charge myself back up."

"What you're doing is dangerous." Hero said.

Alex just nodded in agreement. "All ready my body is screaming out in pain. It was before I did this. Now it feels like every inch is about to be ripped apart." Alex just lifted up his one useful arm. And suddenly shot an aura sphere the size of a marble out at Hero. Upon contact it exploded, sending Hero flying back. Alex also went flying back, when he landed and skidded across the ground, he noticed that his other arm was now limp and useless. At that point, he lost consciousness.

* * *

Up above, Nugai just smiled. "The battle is over." He said.

"What?" Everyone said a bit shocked.

"Look at Hero, he is no longer in any condition to fight. Not to mention, that explosion destroyed his 3DS." Nugai said.

They focused their attention on a monitor that now showed Hero. Half of his body was missing. What remained of his body just faded away. Suddenly they were all teleported down to the ground of the battle arena. Saki, and Isaac just rushed up to Alex's unconscious body.

"For the most part, he will be healed when he leaves here." Nugai said. "However, his body will probably hurt like hell. He needs rest."

Zoroark just picked up Alex, and Nugai waved his hand, teleporting the four of them away, back in front of their house, followed up with another wave of his hand to teleport the car that they had used to drive to the first spot, was safely in the driveway. He then turned to Samus and Ganondorf. They too were also beginning to fade away.

"I guess we are returning back to the mansion." Samus said.

Ganondorf just nodded. "Good." He said. "I didn't like this place. And now I'm not so sure about how I feel regarding all of this."

"All of what?" Samus asked.

"Being ordered around by these humans." Ganondorf replied.

Samus just sighed. "I'm not too thrilled about it either. But unfortunately, those are Master Hand's orders."

"Master Hand isn't going to be amused." Ganondorf laughed.

With that the two of them just vanished. Nugai just snapped his fingers and also disappeared.

* * *

Elsewhere, Hero was just floating in darkness. "Where am I..." He muttered.

"Consider it the game over screen." A voice said, approaching him was Nugai. "The world is just taking a little while to rewrite everything, and reinsert you back into it. After all, it's practically sending you back... 8 or so years, and undoing all the damage that you had done when you gained the power of aura."

"And you're here to taunt me, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I guess I am." Nugai smiled. "I was just trying to figure out an epitaph, I guess."

Hero just glared at him. "You..."

"Heroes, they're so gullible don't you think?" Nugai said. "Believing whatever they're told, and rushing off, no matter what the consequences."

"You lied..." Hero said.

"Yeah." Nugai replied. "I never gave you aura, it just woke up in you one day. But I wanted to make sure you were at your absolute best, so that Alex could defeat you and become stronger. Your aura is strong, and perhaps it could even surpass my own, however it has one fatal weakness. It's fueled by your anger. You only get stronger when you are angry. Something like that is worthless when you're trying to protect the world. Especially since your anger would, cause more damage. While there may be frustration in the upcoming battles, but your victories would only weaken you."

"You bastard..." Hero threw a punch at Nugai who just dodged it.

"Hey, I said I'd fight you if you won the battle." Nugai said. "You didn't..."

"I don't care, I just want to punch your face in!" Hero shouted, throwing a kick.

Nugai just blocked the kick. He began to rapidly jab several spots on Hero. Suddenly Hero was paralyzed, unable to even move. "I hit several spots with aura. Your whole body won't be able to respond for several minutes."

"I'll kill you!" Hero just shouted.

"So it is true." Nugai laughed. "A cornered dog does bark the loudest."

Hero didn't take kindly to this. But there was nothing he could do. Nugai just paced around in the darkness.

"Ah! I figured it out!" Nugai laughed after several minutes. "You're epitaph! 'A puppet that can no longer be used is mere garbage. This puppet's role has just ended...'"

Hero threw several aura spheres at Nugai. He just swatted them away, a bit surprised. "I thought you couldn't move any more." Nugai said.

"You really just pissed me off!" Hero shouted.

Nugai sighed.

"So, tell me, what about your cousin?" Hero shouted. "Is he just another puppet to you?!"

Nugai closed his eyes and thought about it. "Yes, and no." Nugai replied. "As my proxy, he has a job to do, and I trust that he will get it accomplished. Perhaps, I also used his emotional connection to me to my advantage. However, he has free will. The choices he makes are his own. Goodbye."

Hero finally completely disappeared.

12 Chosen Champions Remain

Nugai just began to walk away. A smile just crossed his face. "Just as planned..."

* * *

Master Hand just sighed. Hero had been defeated. He didn't know if it was for the better or worse, but at the current moment, he decided that Hero was too dangerous, and wouldn't of been able to be controlled, or follow orders.

Nugai just appeared behind Master Hand, and began to slowly clap. "Congratulations, Master Hand." He said. "One of your 12 chosen champions has been defeated."

"Why did you come here?" Master Hand asked.

"It seems that I made the right choice in choosing him." Nugai smiled, he wasn't even angry that Master Hand just tried to murder his cousin. "You acted just as I thought you would."

"You mean you planned on me attacking him!?" Master Hand said rather shocked.

"Of course." Nugai smiled. "Think of it as a second screening process."

"What?" Master Hand said.

"I realized early on that this job was far too big for one person." Nugai said. "And that's why I decided to plan out the 12 chosen champions. I however couldn't find 12 individuals. It took me a few months to find Alex and a year of debating afterwards if he was good enough to be my successor. In an ideal world, I'd of had the 13 people from my world working in conjunction with the Smashers, however, my plans had to change due to some unfortunate events."

"I didn't ask about your life story." Master Hand said annoyed.

"I realized early on that if I remained in the position of Nugai, and lead everyone you wouldn't choose Alex as one of the 12 chosen champions. So I gave him my position. I figured you would learn about him eventually and try to get rid of him, thinking that it would jeopardize everything. However, the way I planned it is that Alex is going to go through the 12 Chosen Champions and will decide who will benefit the real goal, and the Smashers."

"Why is he your successor?" Master Hand asked.

"Because, he's my cousin." Nugai said. "Do I need another reason besides personal bias?"

"Yes, because I know you're not explaining the whole story." Master Hand said. "Why is that freak-"

Nugai just rushed to Master Hand and grabbed one of his fingers and began to pull it back. Master Hand just began to scream out in pain. "Never use that word to describe him." Nugai coldly said. "I will break you for it."

Master Hand just cried out, and then Nugai let go. "You're going to have to explain everything."

"Maybe one day." Nugai said. "But until that time, have fun. You might as well send the rest at him." And with that Nugai disappeared.

Master Hand just clenched his fist in frustration. He couldn't believe he was being played by a human being. "I'll make sure things don't go according to your plan, Nugai. There has to be something you overlooked."

* * *

Nugai returned to his cell. He quickly lost his smile and just sighed. "Forgive me, Alex for this life I gave you. I wish we could just go back to us camping..." He just closed his eyes, and began to think back to then...

* * *

**Flashback: Summer 2008**

"CANNONBALL!" Alex shouted jumping into the water off of a dock. Nugai just got hit by a wave of the cold water. He just cringed.

"Thanks, I was trying to work my way down slowly." He muttered.

"Ah come on, you know it's better to just jump in and get it over with." Alex laughed.

Nugai just cringed. He went under the water and then came back up. "It's still cold." He said annoyed.

"What are you a big baby?" Alex laughed.

Nugai just rolled his eyes. "You're one to talk, you were absolutely terrified of my ghost story last night." He just received a splash of water directly at his face for that comment.

"By the end of summer, I'll get you really good!" Alex laughed.

"I doubt that." Nugai teased.

Alex just lunged at him, trying to knock him down into the water. Nugai just held his ground. "Easy there." He sighed. "Remember there's rocks underneath, you wouldn't want me to hit my head."

Alex just nodded.

Over the next few hours the two of them swam in the lake.

Nugai honestly felt sorry for the kid. His parents were currently in a messy divorce. His father had a mistress and had a kid. He didn't know he had a younger half brother until just a few weeks ago. The mistress was being a complete and total maniac, calling Alex a freak among other stuff that didn't exactly put her on very good terms with the rest of the family.

He figured the least he could do was try and get Alex's mind off of it and let him have a good time at the cottage. The previous day they had seen a fireworks show. But even so Nugai was positive that any smile that Alex had now was fake.

The two of them walked out of the lake, and used some towels to dry off.

"So are we really staying down here all summer?" Alex asked.

"I don't really have anything else to do." Nugai sighed. After returning back to the real world, he had quit his part time job and used Dialga's power to win the lottery, that was about the extent of the abuse he had done. The only reason he was still in college was because he figured he would be bored and have nothing else to do. "We got everything we need here, food, some electricity, a boat, some TV and video games in case of a rainy day." The cottage was a rather large place. Especially for just the two of them. It actually belonged to their whole family, and there would be the odd weekend or week during the summer that other family members would be coming down, Nugai also expected some of the older cousins to appear, bring friends and start drinking, when that happened though, Nugai planned on being out on the water in the boat. For the majority of the summer though, they had the whole place to themselves. Their only responsibility was to make sure the place was clean, and washing their clothes.

There was also making food, but Nugai wasn't exactly shy about going into the nearby town that was at least a 5 minute drive away, and just getting fast food, or a nice dinner at an upscale restaurant at night.

But no matter what they had for dinner, they always made their way out to a small fire pit, to roast marshmallows.

This night was no different. "Ready for some Smores?" Nugai asked, getting a graham cracker and chocolate ready. Alex just nodded. "Geeze, I can't believe it though, you never had Smores before. Then again, I guess with all the times the family has been down here, the kids never really got to the Smores... they just ate the chocolate without anything else, or they had fun burning the marshmallows."

Alex just laughed, pressing together his graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows. He quickly tried to eat it. Nugai also followed suit, and washed it down with a drink out of a nearby beer bottle.

"Um... can I have a drink?" Alex asked.

Nugai just looked at the bottle. "Sorry, but the only beer your having is root beer. "

"Come on, just a sip."

"No." Nugai repeated. "I'm waiting a until your 13 before I start corrupting you."

"That's too far away..." Alex said. He was only 11. "Just a tiny sip."

"No. Besides, you wouldn't like this. It tastes horrible. That and I don't want to take any risks because of your weaker immune system." Nugai said. "I really don't want to explain to anyone why you had to be rushed to the hospital, okay?"

Alex just looked defeated, and grabbed another marshmallow. The two of them were silent for a few minutes as they ate a few more smores. Eventually Alex just glanced up at Nugai. "Um, I have a question?"

"What is it?" Nugai asked.

"Why are you spending the whole summer with me?" Alex asked. "Don't you have better things to do?"

"No, I do what I want." Nugai replied.

"Still..." Alex said. "You don't have to, and yet you are... why?"

"Are you asking this because of what that bitch said?" Nugai asked. Alex just looked at his cousin rather surprised, probably both because of how causally he said it, and well, he wasn't expecting Nugai to swear.

"Well..."

"I want to spend time with my cousin. That's the only reason." Nugai said.

"But you have plenty of other cousins, and several that are closer to your own age." Alex said.

"True, but they were all unavailable." Nugai said. "They have jobs and stuff."

"Why did she call me a freak?" Alex asked.

Nugai just sighed. He really didn't want to talk about this. "She's crazy." Nugai said. "That's all there is to it. Now eat some more smores."

Alex obeyed. Nugai couldn't exactly shake the feeling that there was more he wanted to talk about. Honestly, he was probably going to be asking a lot more questions during the summer. "You're an older brother too... what's it like?"

"Is this about Nathan?" Nugai wondered.

"Yeah..." Alex said softly.

"It's nothing too different. There's someone else there. You'll probably fight. You'll have good days and bad days, but you're family." Nugai said. "You've barely seen the kid... Besides, he's not that old yet, he's still in diapers, isn't he?"

"Yeah."

"Then don't worry about his mom shaping him to not like you." Nugai replied..

Another bout of silence went on, this time Nugai found himself playing with the Smash Pendant that was around his neck to try and keep himself occupied. The gem caught Alex's eyes. "What is that?" He asked.

"Oh, just a gift from some friends." Nugai said. "We each have one, it's just to remember our Smash Bros playing days." He had the story well made up in advanced for anyone who asked about the Smash Pendant. But Nugai figured that since they were around the campfire he could have a little fun. "At least, that's what I tell everyone. But the truth is, it's the proof that I'm a Smasher. I actually traveled into the game you know, and I had been chosen to fight someone who was killing all the inhabitants of the world." He glanced and saw that Alex was currently fully captivated by his story. "I learned how to fight from them, and then I found out that the person who was killing everyone was a childhood friend of mine who I had thought died a few months prior. We fought, and I had eventually defeated him, and then I returned here, and now this is all that I have left to remind me of the time in there."

"Oh come on, that didn't really happen." Alex said.

Nugai just smiled. "You got me, it's just a tale for the campfire."

* * *

Nugai just looked around his cell. "Things were certainly much easier back then." He muttered.

He had no doubt that Alex now believed him. No, he believed him way before that, much later in the summer. But it wasn't time to reminisce about that, the days he spent training Alex to use aura. His eyes just focused on someone waiting in the hallway outside of his cell.

"So you're here today as well." Nugai said.

"Yeah." Tei sighed. "Long hours, you know. And I'm repeating the 12th grade for about oh, the 15th time. I never get a break, not even during weekends. Sorry, I need to vent, and you're pretty much the only one who listens to me. You seemed lost in thought."

"Eh, just remembering the summer I spent with Alex." Nugai sighed. "He didn't believe me when I told him about the other world."

"I can't blame him."

"He just took it as a campfire story." Nugai laughed.

"That was probably for the best." Tei sighed.

"Seems like they acted quickly today, trying to get them." Nugai sighed. "I had to interfere..."

"They're confused, they are uncertain about why this infighting has gone on." Tei said.

"So, they're not clueless, crap. Well, Master Idiot is to blame for that one." Nugai sighed. "I expected some resistance... but this... Shit, this is an uphill battle."

* * *

Samus and Ganondorf had returned back to the mansion.

At least they were teleported into the ship that they had departed in, and was now in the hanger. The two of them just looked a bit confused, and it took several seconds for them to get their bearings. They looked out the windows and let off a heavy sigh. Neither of them wanted to go out of the ship. They now knew that they had to go face Master Hand.

"Well, mission failed." Samus laughed. "Tell ya what, for this job well done, why don't I take you out for dinner?"

"That would seem nice." Ganondorf replied. "I'm definitely going to need something to look forwards to after the lecture that Master Hand will no doubt give us."

"What are you worried about?" Samus said. "You have the triforce of Power, you'll survive."

"Want to turn on your power suit now?" Ganondorf joked.

The two walked out of the ship. Much to their horror, waiting for them at the exit of the hanger was Nana and Popo. There was no doubt that the Ice Climbers were there to escort them back up to Master Hand. But the two seemed rather puzzled. "What happened?" Nana asked. "For you two to be sent back almost immediately! Is that world that dangerous?"

If nothing else, Samus and Ganondorf found their obliviousness of the situation reassuring.

"Yes and no." Ganondorf replied. "I'd say we were teamed up with a suicidally overconfident idiot, and then there were some moronic orders on our side."

The two just nodded. "Master Hand has requested to see you two in his office." Popo said.

Both Ganondorf and Samus sighed. "Well, let's get this execution over with." Ganondorf said.

Nana and Popo looked at the two of them a bit confused, and just began to escort them back to Master Hand's office. When they got to the giant doors, Ganondorf just opened them, and Samus went inside.

The doors quickly closed, and a magical barrier appeared around the room, most likely to muffle any sounds. Floating behind his desk was Master Hand, who was tapping his fingers against the desk. He just looked at the two Smashers.

"Samus, Ganondorf." Master Hand said, it was quite clear that he was frustrated, and trying to hold back his anger. "Do you have any idea what you just did?"

"Absolutely nothing." Ganondorf replied bluntly. "We failed to make contact in time to fulfill our orders."

"Don't lie to me, Ganondorf." Master Hand said, his voice seething. "And Samus, you just stood back, and watched as this happened."

Samus just stared at Master Hand. "Master Hand, I am a bounty hunter, I kill. I have committed acts of genocide against two separate races. But, I still have standards. The races that I killed were galactic threats, capable of destroying the universe."

"And so is he!" Master Hand snapped, no longer able to hold his composure. "You just watched! You even warned Saki and Isaac beforehand!"

"And what were we supposed to do?" Samus asked. "Just let that serial killer run around?"

"Yes, if all went according to plan, they would have eliminated each other, but you two jeopardized everything!" Master Hand shouted. "If you had worked together with Hero, this wouldn't of happened!"

"Master Hand, the only one who will bring about destruction is you." Ganondorf said, glaring at the giant hand. "Our time is all ready limited, and you seem to be more interested in eliminating this potential threat. A threat that is more likely to do what will destroy us with every time you attack him! Instead of just counting your blessings at a potential ally."

Master Hand just floated there.

"I think you best rethink your position, before you end up destroying the Smashers." Ganondorf said, walking away.

"Get back here, I'm not done with you!" Master Hand shouted.

The Triforce of power just began to glow on Ganondorf's hand. "We are." Ganondorf said, touching the door, destroying the barrier and opening it. Samus just followed. "How about some coffee and some food at Smashville's cafe?"

"Sure that works for me." Samus laughed.

"Nana, Popo! Stop them!" Master Hand shouted. The two Ice Climbers just rushed up in front of Samus and Ganondorf. They looked at the two of them, and then just backed off, as soon as they saw the triforce of power glowing.

Samus and Ganondorf made their way to Smashville, they were a bit shocked to see some alloys patrolling the perimeter of the town. They went in and sat at a table in the Roost. Soon they ordered their coffee, and some snacks. The two of them rarely actually talked.

"He's been staring at us since we got in." Ganondorf eventually muttered as he put down his coffee cup.

"Who?"

"That boy." Ganondorf replied. "The one that always comes to the mansion to play with the kid Smashers."

"Oh, you pay attention?" Samus laughed, stirring some sugar into her coffee.

"They're loud. You can't ignore them, even if you wanted to." Ganondorf admitted. "He was there when we did repairs."

They finished their coffee and food. Ganondorf once again glanced up to see Villager sitting there, still staring at them. Ganondorf just got up and approached the boy. "Why were you staring at us this whole time?" He asked.

"Why are you here in Smashville?" He asked, clearly afraid.

"I just came to eat food, is that allowed?" Ganondorf asked.

Villager just looked away. "Well, yes, I guess..."

"What's wrong?" Ganondorf asked.

"Are you here to look over Smashville on orders from Master Hand?" Villager asked.

"What?" Ganondorf said confused.

Villager just pulled out a letter from his pocket. Ganondorf took it and began to read it over. "Master Hand told us he was going to protect Smashville with the Alloys in case the monsters attacked again."

Ganondorf just handed the letter back to Villager. "Samus, I think we should head back."

Samus just looked confused at Ganondorf, and then at Villager. She just nodded. "Okay." She said.

As they were walking back on the pathway to the Smash Mansion, she just looked at Ganondorf a bit confused. "What was that about."

"That's what I'm about to find out." Ganondorf replied. "Master Hand is holding those people as prisoners in their own town."

"What?!" Samus said shocked.

"Something in the Smash Mansion is wrong, and I'm going to find out what it is." Ganondorf replied.

* * *

It was a strange dream. He had it from time to time. Every single time it started the same. He was in an old abandoned room. There was dust everywhere, but he was sitting down on a chair. There were 24 others who were also sitting down in chairs. They were in five rows and five columns. They were all wearing the same things. A white shirt and white pants. They all just looked blankly forwards. It felt strangely like a classroom.

It was like Alex was the only one who wasn't held in place. He just began to move around looking at each of the people. They wouldn't even acknowledge them. They would just sit there. He could punch them, kick them, shove them off of the chair but they would just get back in the seat.

There was very little to do in the room, it was sealed. There were doors, but they were locked. He would try opening them. Constantly trying to punch, or kick them open. In the morning he would be told by Zoroark that he was also punching and kicking in real life. There was occasionally the week where Zoroark would stop sleeping on the bed because it was so constant.

He could do anything and no one would look at him. It was creepy.

Occasionally there would be someone else in the room hiding behind a pillar. He seemed different, he had a mask on, and they would occasionally converse. Other times he wasn't there. And some people would come in through the doors. If he wasn't in the seat when they were in the door, they would order the others to attack him.

All Alex could do was run, but he was eventually caught and torn apart. He would wake up in pain as though he was actually attacked.

Tonight though he just sat there. And sat there. Nothing was happening... And then the room began to dissolve, everything began to disappear his clothing changed to that of his pajamas, and it became far too vivid be a dream.

Alex was now standing on a tower, up in the sky. Above him were two different worlds, they were shockingly close. It looked like they could collide at nearly any moment. He figured one was earth and the other was the other planet, the one that the Smashers protected.

"Welcome to another meeting." A voice said. Alex just turned to see Master Hand in the direct center of the tower. "I hope that I didn't interrupt any dreams."

Around the tower were 11 others. However they were all covered by a pixel mosaic, he assumed it was to hide their identities.

"Number 12 is different?" One said confused.

"So, his 3DS was stolen?" Another asked.

Alex was confused. They were talking about him right? He looked down at his feet, and there on the tower he was standing on was the roman numeral for 12: XII.

Master Hand however just seemed to ignore them. "I see many of you have all ready met your Smashers outside, so, they should have explained nearly everything."

"Nearly everything." Alex said rather annoyed.

Master Hand just floated there, and for the first time actually acknowledging that he was there. "Nugai's proxy. We finally get to talk face to hand. I guess Nugai put you into our dream meetings too."

Everyone began to murmur.

"I guess you're the only one who would be behind, so how much do you know?" Master Hand asked.

Alex just looked around, he could tell all eyes were on him. "That our worlds are fusing together, and that monsters have crossed over, and that we need to send them back."

Master Hand just floated there. "Good-"

"Now why did you send a serial killer to kill me." Alex said rather annoyed.

"What are you talking about?" Master Hand said.

"Cut the crap, Hand." Alex said. "Saki and Isaac, said you sent him after me."

"You really shouldn't trust Saki and Isaac, they were sent there to kill you too." Master Hand said.

Alex could tell Master Hand was leading him on, hoping that he would react, and lose his cool. The thing was, he partly, no he fully believed it, he didn't doubt for a second that after Master Hand sending Hero after him, that Saki and Isaac were originally meant to observe and possibly eliminate him too. "Is that so." He laughed. "Why don't we start talking, why did you send them to kill me too?"

"You don't know?" Master Hand replied.

"No, I don't." Alex said. "I have no idea what I did in my life for you to justify sending a serial killer after me. I mean there was the battle with Aquamentus, and then that Biolizard stuff. But that's the only contact I've ever had with your world. Now tell me, why did you send him after me?"

Master Hand just floated there. "Our time is limited." He said.

"Enough trying to move away from this subject!" Alex said. "Tell me, why did you send him after me?"

"Master Hand said that you must be eliminated no matter what, he never gave us any justification either." A voice said. "Just that you can't be Nugai's proxy."

Alex just looked at Master Hand. He just raised his hand. "I wouldn't try that." Master Hand said. "In this dream scape, no one can harm anyone."

"Tell me why." Alex said.

"I mistook you for someone else, that's all there is to it, a case of mistaken identity." Master Hand said.

"Yeah right." Alex said. "Do you think I'm a gullible idiot? That sending a serial killer after me was just because of mistaken identity?"

Master Hand just froze. "You were an anomaly." Master Hand said. "There were only supposed to be 12 chosen. But I soon found that my message was sent to a 13th person. I sent, number twelve after you, to see if you were a friend or a foe. But now, you defeated him, and earned your spot here."

Alex wasn't all too amused. "Your tripping over your own stories hand. Just a few seconds ago one of them said that you said I couldn't be Nugai's Proxy. I'm not an anomaly."

Master Hand was growing more and more frustrated. "Fine then!" He snapped. "You want to know why?!"

"This meeting is going nowhere." A voice said. Suddenly floating down from the sky was Nugai. He just looked rather bored. "Master Hand, you really shouldn't treat my cute little cousin like an idiot. He'll tear you apart like you just saw."

"Nugai, just what I needed." Master Hand muttered.

Alex just stared at his cousin. "Andrew, maybe now I'll finally get answers."

Suddenly Nugai was right in front of Alex. "Hey, little cousin, look here, in front of these people I'm Nugai, I've got some appearances to uphold, you know?"

"Fine." Alex sighed. "Nugai, then, why did Master Hand just try to kill me, and why did you sit back and let it happen?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, Master Hand want's me to be there to lead the Smashers, and the Chosen Champions, but since I'm not in a favorable position, and I'm just biding my time, and can't freely act every day, I chose you as my proxy." Nugai replied. "Truth be told, even with your abilities, you're nowhere near my strength. Hardly anyone is. I was just sitting back and let the fight happen, because you need to get stronger."

"And a psychomaniac trying to kill me is going to make me stronger?" Alex said, rather annoyed.

"And I may have fed Master Hand a lie or two, to get him to send said psychomaniac." Nugai replied shrugging. "But what do I know? I'm insane."

"Gee, thanks." Alex muttered.

"And besides, you made it out alive." Nugai said.

"Barely." Alex muttered.

"So, that's that." Nugai said. "Now, I'm hoping that you 12 can all work together now."

Alex could tell despite whatever was concealing the identities of the others, they were all glaring at Nugai. "How do we know if he's as good as we are?" One said. "What if he holds us back?"

"He's much better than you guys." Nugai replied coldly. "You would be the ones holding him back. But, if you think differently you're still free to try and take him down. But just be warned, he will wreck you. Ah well, I've got to go, see ya." And with that Nugai vanished.

"He'll wreck us?" One said annoyed. "Is that so?"

"That guy seems sort of arrogant. He doesn't know our strength."

Alex however was focusing on all of them. He was trying to figure out a way to see through the static, and mosaic. Unfortunately, in this dream scape, no one was letting off aura. Still, he could make out some details, such as height. There were a few that were slightly taller or smaller.

"Everyone, the time between monster attacks will slowly begin to shrink. I wish you twelve would meet together in the real world and work together."

"I'm not interested in working together." One person said.

"Yeah, just give me their powers and I'll fix the worlds for you."

Master Hand just sighed. He foresaw this, but wished it wasn't going to be that big of a problem. Or something that could have been quickly glossed over. He was wrong.

"I don't need anyone's help." another said.

Others comments about how they didn't want to work together continued to ring. Master Hand just clenched his fist rather frustrated. "Enough!" Master Hand shouted. Everyone froze, and just stared at the giant glove. "Everyone, stop arguing and listen to me!" Master Hand just took a deep breath and then continued talking. "We're running out of time. In five months, our worlds will face their biggest crisis: either they will be fused together, or all dimensions will be completely annihilated. You humans, along with the Smashers are our only hope to stop this crisis. I don't have time to find and train anyone else, every second is important here"

"And what if we think we can solve this problem alone?" One of them asked.

"Very well then." Master Hand just sighed. "I will then test you all. For two weeks it seems like you will not have to worry about any monsters crossing over. You are to then meet up with your fellow chosen ones. Open up your 3DS."

Everyone did as told. They were greeted with a message that new software had been downloaded. They all went over to the present and opened it, and then went into it. And they came across what looked to be a leader board.

For Alex it looked like this:

1 ?  
2 ?  
3 ?  
4 ?  
5 ?  
6 ?  
7 ?  
8 ?  
9 ?  
10 ?  
11 ?  
12 Alex

"This is the status of the other chosen ones." Master Hand explained. "If someone's 3DS' is destroyed they will be removed off of the list. At the end of two weeks, if you are the only person left on the list I will allow them to fight alone. You will have proven to me that you are capable of fighting without everyone else. However, if you aren't, you must work together. Is that fair?"

"So, I just have to destroy 11 other 3DS'." One person said. "That's simple enough."

"Still you can seek out others, and work together to defend yourself against those who are going after you." Master Hand said. "I wish you all the best of luck."

"Wait?!" Alex shouted. "How will we know who is a chosen?"

"When you streetpass, your Mii will be different." Master Hand explained.

Alex just nodded, and then they were all dismissed. They all disappeared, and Master Hand just floated there.

"You're still here, aren't you?" Master Hand asked.

"Of course." Nugai replied..

"You shouldn't be trying to manipulate events to play out the way you want to!"

"Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, Master Hand." Nugai replied.

"Did you plan for this too?" Master Hand asked.

Nugai just shrugged. "No, not really." He sighed. "I guess now we just have to play with the hand that we've dealt our selves."

"Indeed." Master Hand sighed. "Only time will tell if we have a winning hand, or if we're going to have to bluff our way through this."

"Ah well, I'll see you later, any monsters that come over, I'll take care of them for two weeks."

"Wait, can you manage that on your own?" Master Hand asked. "I mean, you're still trapped and under heavy security right."

Nugai just nodded. "It will be a bit difficult, but I think I can manage. Besides, I have a plan."

"Care to fill me in on it?" Master Hand asked.

Nugai just laughed. "Considering how badly you reacted to my previous plan, I don't think so."

"If we want the chosen champions to work together, I think maybe we should lead by example." Master Hand said.

Nugai just sighed. "True." He said, reaching under his shirt and pulling out a necklace, attached to this necklace was a bullet. "But, I don't think you would agree to this plan either."

"A memory bullet?!" Master Hand said a bit shocked.

"Yeah..." Nugai sighed. "Well, there might be the chance that I don't even need to use this. But we will see what happens in two weeks..." With that Nugai disappeared.

Master Hand just floated there. "Two weeks, and then the leader of the chosen Champions will be decided..."

* * *

Master Hand let off a heavy sigh as he reappeared in his office. Did he really just send a serial killer to try and kill someone who was completely innocent? Did Nugai just feed him lies, and manipulate him, just like he manipulated Hero?

"Was I really mistaken?" Master Hand thought. However he couldn't think further on it as the doors to his office was punched open by Ganondorf.

"Master Hand!" He said. "You've got some explaining to do!"

Master Hand just floated there. "Can this wait until tomorrow, I'm not exactly in the mood."

"No." Ganondorf replied, just lunging for him. "You're going to answer for what you've done!" Ganondorf had charged up several magical balls of energy and just rushed for him.

But, Master Hand was quick and teleported Ganondrof away. He had put him inside a pocket dimension, and he imagined that Ganondorf wouldn't be happy about it. "I'll worry about it later..." He muttered, drifting through the Smash Mansion. "I need to find out if Nugai really was telling the truth..."

* * *

Sunday morning Alex woke up rather sore. It took him several seconds to remember the battle with Hero the previous day. His body just ached from all over, remembering each and every attack that he was hit with. He stretched a bit and immediately grunted in pain. This was enough to wake Zoroark. "What's wrong?"

"I just think it's my body aching from the fight yesterday." Alex replied. "I've never used that much Aura."

Zoroark just laughed. "I see."

Alex stood up, however immediately fell down to the ground. His legs had given out. Zoroark however was quick helped him up, along with supporting him. him. "Master?"

Alex could only stand there in shock. "Looks like it's going to be a slow day for me today." He sighed.

He made his way into the washroom, and just did his business, eventually rummaging through the cupboards to get to a toothbrush. He began to brush his teeth and then for the first time he looked at himself in the mirror.

He let out a scream of shock.

Zoroark quickly rushed to his master's side. "What's wrong!?"

"My hair!" Alex said.

His hair had gone pure white, it had lost any and all color. "This is impossible… It can't be like this… I…"

He just finished brushing his teeth and just tried to compose himself. They made their way downstairs, and sat at the dining room table. "It's been like that since the fight was over." Zoroark said.

"How…" Alex said.

"I imagine it was aura…"

"But still, hair is all ready dead, it can't change color instantly. It has to be dyed, this isn't DragonBall Z!"

"But it turned white with aura, when you enter the awakened aura state..." Zoroark replied. "And Nugais too."

"Nugai said when he was training me, that it was the density of aura that made it appear white." Alex replied. He just closed his eyes. "But there is no aura in my hair. It just naturally went white..."

"Master, how about we get some food." Zoroark said. "We can go out for breakfast..."

Alex just glared at Zoroark for that suggestion.

"Or we can stay in here." He just pushed over a fruit bowl to Alex who just took some bananas, and apples out of it. Alex just ate the fruit, when he was done, he slowly tried to get up.

"Damn it, not this again." He muttered.

"Master, please, just take it easy today." Zoroark said.

Alex just nodded.

A few minutes later, Saki and Isaac came into the room yawning. "We heard screaming a while ago, what was that?"

"Bed head." Alex bitterly replied.

The two of them just sat down and grabbed some fruits and began to eat. After they were done, they just turned to face Alex.

"After yesterdays battle, we have decided to give you something." Isaac said.

Saki pulled what looked to be a small yellow envelope out of his pocket. He passed it over to Alex who just looked at it for a few seconds. On it was the writing "AR Games AR Cards". He just opened the envelope and spread them out on the table looking at them a bit confused.

All the cards were similar. They had a white border, and a black background. In the middle there was a photo of either a person, thing or object.

The first had a small question mark box on it.

The second had a picture of Mario on it.

The third had a picture of Toon Link on it.

The fourth had a picture of Kirby on it.

The fifth had a picture of Samus on it.

The sixth had a picture of three pikmin on it, one yellow, one red, and one blue.

"These are just normal 3DS AR Cards…" He said confused.

"We were told that if you were to be our leader, you would know what to do with them." Saki said.

Alex just looked confused at the cards. He looked at the backs, they were blank white. "Z, can you get a pack of these?" Alex asked.

Zoroark just nodded, he rushed up to their room to find another pack of cards, and brought them down. They were also spread out across the table, so that they could compare them. They were identical in every single way. They were just the normal cards that came with the 3DS.

He just looked at the two Smashers, they were waiting for him to do something. "Wait… these were in your pockets the whole time?" Alex said confused. "Like during all of our battles…"

"Yeah." Saki replied.

"But didn't you lose your pants when you transformed?" Alex questioned.

Saki just shrugged. "It's a magical inventory that we can access. One of the perks that we get as being Smashers. It wasn't actually on us, only when we go to grab it."

"So, it's basically hammer space." Alex replied.

"Hammer space?" The two said confused.

Alex just sighed. "It's a term that was coined here to describe items that seem to appear out of nowhere with some characters, like Link even though he only has a sword and shield on his back, he can still pull out a giant metal ball out of nowhere."

"Ah okay." Saki said.

"For a few seconds though, I thought that these cards were indestructible…" He said. "Actually, let's see!"

The two suddenly had a look of horror across their faces. "Wait, you can't be serious…" Saki said. "If you destroy it, it might not be able to be used."

"I know." Alex replied.

"Then why are you going to try and destroy it?" Isaac asked confused.

Alex just shrugged it off and grabbed the card with a question mark on it and just looked at it, he looked at the other side. It felt like it was just a normal card. He tried to rip it, but much to his shock, he soon learned that it was indestructible. He couldn't even bend it so that it was damaged. Even using aura to strengthen himself, he couldn't rip the card. However, when he used aura, the card started to glow. Saki and Isaac stared in amazement.

However their amazement was soon replaced with a bit of shock. The card began to change shape, it became a small cube, about double the size of a normal 6 sided dice, and then floated and lied down on the table. The top of the block opened slightly, and some eyes were peering out at the four of them. From underneath it came two small legs. "What is this?" Alex asked looking at it rather confused.

"I don't know." Saki replied. "It's the first time I've seen this."

"Same." Isaac replied. "But, it might be like the Djinn. You gave it some of your energy, to call upon it…"

The block turned around and looked at Alex. "So, you were the one who summoned me." it said.

"You can talk?" Alex said.

"Of course I can talk." the block said. "What, you think just because you can't see my mouth, I can't speak! The nerve of some people!"

"Sorry, just I'm kind of new to this whole thing." Alex apologized. "I'm still trying to get over the shock of fictional characters coming to life, and actually existing, and monsters trying to kill me, and then our universes are slowly fusing… and now the Smashers are against me and want me dead."

"Yeah, look, no one cares." The block said. "You can angst some other time, I've got important business to attend to."

"Okay, so do you have a name?" Alex asked.

"My name?" It said. "It's, Mr. AR, but to be honest I don't like it that much. You can call me Blocky."

"Mr. AR? Blocky?" Alex said. He glanced at Saki and Isaac who were trying their best to keep a straight face.

"Yeah, I think it makes me sound cute, and I can be a mascot character!" Mr. AR said. "After all, I kind of am, I'm the symbol for the AR games!"

"So, what's your purpose?" Alex asked.

"Well, I'm supposed to help you, and all of the other Chosen Champions, learn how to use the true power of these cards."

Alex looked at the block rather confused. "Okay then."

"I guess the first thing is to explain what each card does. But it seems like you've only got two powers so far." He said walking over to the other cards.

"I've only got two powers so far?" Alex said confused.

"Yep." Mr. AR replied. "The others are blocked so you can't abuse their powers. You have to earn them!"

"Okay, so what are the two powers that I've got so far?" Alex asked.

Mr. AR just laughed. "Well the first is summoning me!"

"And that is of use how?" Saki asked.

"Well, I can do a lot of things!" Mr. AR happily said. "Plus I've got a super secret special ability that can only be used once!"

"And what's that?" Alex asked.

"It's a secret!" Mr. AR replied. "But you can use me to access a shop, and buy things with play coins that you have on your 3DS. Also, I don't know if you've noticed but the 300 play coin cap is gone now! Plus you can get more than 10 play coins a day. Although after the first 1000 steps, you only get a play coin for every 1000 after instead of 100."

"Okay, so what's the other card that I can use?" Alex asked.

Mr. AR just walked over until he was on top of the Samus card. "This one, and it does exactly what you think it does. The Samus card can scan your opponents." Mr. AR joyfully said. "Why don't you try it, and use it to scan me to find out about my abilities. Just touch it, okay?"

Alex just reached for the Samus card. He touched it, unlike with Mr. AR it didn't require any energy to be put in, it just began to glow and then suddenly on him appeared a pair of glasses,.

He looked at Mr. AR, and a smile crossed his face. Suddenly things began to appear on the lens. He began to look around the house, with the scanning capabilities. Much to his surprise, there was information about everything he scanned. The table produced information on the year it was made, the cost of various objects showed up. It pointed out any damages and defects that were there on some objects. He soon learned that he could switch to thermal and x-ray views. "It's just like the visor from Metroid Prime." Alex said.

"Yep, that's the first ability." Mr. AR said. "Now, about me, I'm a guardian."

"Sorry, I all ready have one of those." Alex said, motioning towards Zoroark.

Mr. AR however quickly jumped up. "Oh no, I don't mean like that, I mean like your guardian. I'm a guide, and I can help you during training. But it seems to me like, any training right now would just do more damage to you."

Alex just nodded.

"So, I guess the only other thing I have to say is, the other card you can access is the Toon Link card. And it just summons a sword for you to use!" Mr. AR said. "Now, any chosen champion can access these cards right now, however each chosen champion also has a special ability that is completely unique to them."

"And what are those?"

"Well, that's actually a secret." Mr. AR replied. "And I don't know who got what powers, it's supposed to be for fairness in any battles, so each person has an edge, you know?"

"That kind of leaves me a bit nervous..." Alex sighed.

"Ah well, don't worry about it." Mr. AR said.

"So what's my ability?" Alex wondered.

Mr. AR just stood there, and looked over Alex for several moments. "Hmm... No idea, but it seems like you got someone's power after you defeated them."

"Hero... He had a power, what was it?" Alex wondered.

"Are you stupid, he used it against you at the beginning of the fight." Mr. AR said. "He teleported you to a location."

Alex just looked a bit shocked. "Oh."

"However, said power has a limit." Mr. AR replied. "You can only teleport one other person, and you can only teleport to where you've taken a picture of. And once you teleport there, that picture is deleted!"

Alex just nodded. "I see. Beyond trying to separate someone, that seems pretty useless for combat."

"Yep, quite frankly, it's one of the weakest." Mr. AR replied. "I imagine it was because of Hero's other abilities."

"Aura..." Alex said.

"Yep, there needs to be some balance, you can't just give someone a complete game breaker power if they are all ready super capable of fighting." Mr. AR said. "Well, that's enough explanations for right now, I'm going to go take a nap, you should do the same you really need to recover." With those words Mr. AR vanished.

The rest of the day, Alex had spent relaxing, and trying to recover.

* * *

Elsewhere, Dark Pit and Phosphora had made it to their first destination.

This was not the place Phosphora expected to come. A human town. A dirty, filthy, human town, in the middle of nowhere. She just looked at Dark Pit who continued to walk forwards through the town. Some people were staring at them. "Why are we here? I thought we were going to the underworld?" Phosphora protested.

"I told you we were finding one of Pit's old allies here." Dark Pit replied.

"Who of any use are we going to find here?" Phosphora asked. "There's no God, or servant of a god that we will find hiding in this hole."

"Of course." Dark Pit said. "I know that."

"There's only bandits and thieves here." Phosphora said.

"You're right lady." A voice said. A group of ten people had surrounded them. "We don't get many travelers around these parts, now why don't you just hand over all your valuables, and we'll let you live."

Dark Pit just looked at all of them rather bored. "Are we really doing this?" He muttered. "Phosphora, can you just get rid of them."

"Of course." Phosphora replied. Lightning just struck down from the skies, knocking the ten people who was trying to rob them unconscious.

Dark Pit just glanced around the streets covered with shadows. "I know other people are watching, if you don't want to end up like your friends, I suggest not trying to attack us." from the shadows people began to scurry away.

Dark Pit and Phosphora made their way down to a bar. They walked in, inside was just a bunch of rather strong looking people, each of them fighting. It also stank horribly.

"You really think some human is just going to sign up to go to the underworld with us?" Phosphora said.

"But it's just not some human." Dark Pit said. He removed his hood and just looked around the bar. People were drinking beer, fighting, and it looked rather unruly. Dark Pit just walked up to the counter, and Phosphora followed. The two sat down. "We'll have some water." He said, just putting a gold coin down on the table.

"Just water?" The bartender said. "We don't serve water here kid."

Dark Pit just glared at the bartender.

"This brat wants water!?" A patron laughed. "Why don't you go home and cry to mommy, little boy!?" He laughed getting up into Dark Pit's face. "Is that thing on your back just a toy?!" pointing at his silver bow. "It doesn't even have a string!"

Dark Pit however just grabbed the man by the neck and lifted him up off of the ground, and threw him into the wall on the other side of the bar. The entire bar went dead silent.

"Get us our water." Dark Pit snapped, ignoring everyone just glaring at him.

"Hey, are you sure this is a good idea?" Phosphora asked.

The bartender gave two cups of water, and Dark Pit just drank it. "I came here for some information." Dark Pit said. "I'm looking for a man named Magnus."

Several people began to laugh. Dark Pit just was beginning to grow annoyed at the crowd of humans. "Magnus, what do you want him for?"

"That's between me and him." Dark Pit said.

Several drunk men had approached Phosphora. "Hey, lady, why don't you come with us, and we'll show you a real good time..." One said.

Phosphora just glared at them, and then at Dark Pit. "Why did you bring me in here?"

"I was perfectly fine entering here alone." Dark Pit replied. "In fact, I told you that you could have waited outside of town until I was done."

"I was told to keep a close eye on you." Phosphora replied.

Dark Pit just sighed. "Yeah, whatever."

"Hey don't ignore us!" One of the people in the bar said.

Dark Pit just looked at all of the rather angry looking people there and just sighed. "I really don't want to fight you guys. I just want to know where Magnus is."

"Well, guess what, Magnus owes us a lot of money, and if one of his friends is here-"

"Oh, okay, you're going to try and attack me to try and get to Magnus through association, because you're all a bunch of weaklings that can't beat him yourself." Dark Pit sighed. He just stood up, and began to laugh. "If it's a fight you'll want, it's a fight you'll get!"

They all charged for Dark Pit, but within a few minutes they were all knocked out. Dark Pit just sighed. "I was going easy on them too, I didn't even use any magic or weapons. And here I thought I wasn't going to have to wait until I saw Pitstain again, to get a decent fight."

Phosphora just sighed. "Men." She muttered. Dark Pit just sat back down on the chair, ignoring Phosphora's comment. "For your sake, I hope Magnus isn't as weak as them."

"Trust me, he isn't." Dark Pit replied.

At that moment, walking into the bar was a single man with shoulder length messy dark hair, and a giant metal slab for a sword on his back. He looked at the mess that Dark Pit had caused with all of the other patrons. "Looks like I missed a fight." He said, with a hint of disappointment in his voice. He glanced at Dark Pit. "Angel face, is that you?"

"Not exactly. I'll say I'm his brother." Dark Pit replied. "Your Magnus I presume?"

"Yeah. And you are?"

"I'm Dark Pit, but you can call me Kuro." Dark Pit said. "I've come here looking for you, I would like to hire your services."

"Looks to me you're strong enough all ready, why do you need my help?" Magnus said pointing to the ruined bar.

Dark Pit just smiled. "Because I heard you are always willing to take a shot at the Underworld."

Magnus just laughed. "My services don't come cheap."

From underneath the cloak, Dark Pit pulled out a bottle. "We can start with this, one of the finest wines made and aged by Viridi the Goddess of Nature herself."

"Wait, Dark Pit, you stole that from Viridi?!" Phosphora said shocked.

Dark Pit just glanced at her. "Yeah, maybe." Dark Pit replied.

Magnus just laughed. "All right, come with me, and we can start talking."

They began to leave, "Hey, who's going to pay for this mess?"

"They started it." Dark Pit replied. "Here. This should cover my costs." He threw over several gold coins to the bartender.

They exited out of the bar and made their way through the town. "So, Dark Pit?" Magnus asked.

"It's a long story, but during the fight against Medusa, Pit looked into the Mirror of Truth and I was created." Dark Pit replied. "It was after he first met you."

"Ah, I see." Magnus replied. They made their way out of the town, to a camp where a bunch of tents had been set up. "This is the mercenary camp that Goal and I are apart of."

Dark Pit just looked around all the tents. "Honestly, I was just hoping to hire you, I only thought you would be willing to go on this job."

"Well, honestly, the rest of the camp is doing other stuff right now." Magnus said. "So, even if you wanted them, you couldn't get them. Now, what's the job?"

"Go in, kill a god, get out." Dark Pit replied.

"Basically an assassination mission. But with a high probability of it being a suicide mission." Magnus said. "The fewer people with us the better."

"Although the god is much weaker than when Pit fought him." Dark Pit said. "So, we have a chance, if it's just the three of us."

"And which god is this?" Magnus asked.

"Hades." Dark Pit replied.

"That guy is back?" He laughed. "That's bad news, I guess. But it looks like I can get some of the action this time around!" A normal human probably wouldn't be excited about this, but to Dark Pit, that just proved that Magnus really wasn't a normal human, and just the ally they needed.

Magnus just gave them a quick tour around the camp, until a young blonde woman came rushing up to him. "Magnus!" She said.

"Gaol."

Dark Pit and Phosphora just looked a bit shocked at the two of them.

"This is my wife." Magnus said. "And before I can really say 'yes', I'll have to run it by her first."

The two went into a tent, and Dark Pit and Phosphora just waited outside. After a few minutes Magnus came out.

"All right, I'll go with you." Magnus said. "Just so you know, I intend on getting back alive. I've got a family that I'm trying to start."

"I promise you, you will make it back alive." Dark Pit said.

"Good, now do you mind if I ask for payment in advance?" Magnus asked.

"No. Here's the gold." Dark Pit said, tossing a bag of gold right to Magnus.

Magnus just smiled. He began to look through it. "Amazing, after this job, I can retire from being a mercenary. Thanks, I'll give it to Gaol, and she can take care of it, buy a house, so we can settle down once I'm done."

"Just so you know, if you cross me and run away, well, it won't be pleasant." Dark Pit said.

"Fine, fine." Magnus laughed. "Come on, I'll show you what tent you can sleep in tonight."

They followed Magnus, and got to a tent, they just went in and quickly fell asleep. In the morning, the three of them just departed to the underworld.

* * *

_So go on, whip around that sword like you're the best, it's such a bore!_  
_Another hero~? Oh, please~!_

_~Philistine, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, Margaret Moonlight's boss music_

* * *

**File 1**

**Do you want to save**

**YES**

**Party: Alex, Zoroark, Saki, Isaac.**

* * *

**Next chapter: The Flame that Never Dies**

**Notes: **

**5 chapters and I'm at 100,000 words all ready. That has to be a new record for me... (Not sure if the story is 100,000 words, or if that's with the boosting of notes and stuff... when I went and checked prior to editing the chapter it was 99,468 words... I'm assuming I got 600+ words during editing.)**

**I actually debated having Chapter 4 and 5 as one super long chapter... Nah! Sorry, editing 4 was draining enough. 5 too... This is only going to get worse, isn't it?**

**Rosalina and the Swarm: I wanted something else besides the OC's fighting, some of Alex's back story, and a bunch of other stuff that was solely focused on the OC's. So that's why they're in at this point. The Dark Pit, Phosphora, and Magnus segment was written for pretty much the same reason. I also wanted to do a few things with them, and set them up, since Dark Pit is a Smasher, and Phosphora and Magnus are assist trophies. And, once again, much like Rosalina and the Swarm, I wanted more stuff so it just wasn't the OC's.**

**Ness and his search for Lucas: The Smash Pendant's locating magic requires proper instructions and takes things literally. It's not that Lucas is blocking it. It's that Ness gave the wrong instructions. "Show me where Lucas ran away to!" The problem is Lucas wants to return to the Smashers, and is now fulfilling the Smashers' mission of meeting up with a Chosen Champion, and protecting them. Despite not being assigned for this mission, the Smash Pendant can not distinguish this. It just thinks that Lucas is just another Smasher doing his job, and therefore hasn't 'run away'. Now, if Ness said "Show me where Lucas is." it would point straight to him. But Ness is growing more frustrated, and emotional, and has overlooked the obvious.**


	6. The Flame that Never Dies

**I was actually expecting no reviews last chapter since, well... 1st chapter had 4, 2nd had 3, 3rd had 2, and 4th had 1. Going by that pattern, yeah zero. But that wasn't the case.**

**Statement:** **Wow. Reeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllly long chapter.****  
**

**Response:**** I like long chapters. :3 This one was actually supposed to be the same length, or slightly shorter... but it got longer in editing.  
**

* * *

Chapter 6: The Flame that Never Dies

Ganondorf had been in the pocket dimension for a full day. It did little to actually douse his rage. Or, it could have been what the pocket dimension was modeled after. It was just one large desert. Sand as far as the eye could see, with the occasional cliff to cast a shadow. A place that he was all too familiar with, and the death that it brought. How the dry air sucked out any moisture, and would leave those who were weak for the dead.

A portal appeared in the sky, and Master Hand emerged from it. Ganondorf wasn't looking all too pleased. "Have you calmed down?" Master Hand asked.

"No." Ganondorf replied, waving his hands, two giant swords appeared in front of him. He just effortlessly picked them up and stared at the Hand. "I want answers, and I'm going to get them, even if I have to beat them out of you!"

"You will do no such thing." Master Hand just snapped his fingers, however, nothing happened.

Ganondorf just laughed. "You shouldn't have left me here for 24 hours alone." Ganondorf said. "I made sure that when you came in here, you wouldn't be able to escape until I was satisfied with the answers you gave me."

"What is this about?" Master Hand asked.

"Everything." Ganondorf replied. "Sending us, teaming us up with that serial killer, trying to kill that person, and now using the alloys to keep Villager in Smashville."

"You knew about that?" Master Hand said. "How?!"

"We went to Smashville and he was terrified of us." Ganondorf replied. "When did the Smashers turn into a dictatorship?"

"I don't have to answer to you." Master Hand said.

"Actually you do." Ganondorf said, lunging towards Master Hand. He swung both of the swords down towards Master Hand who blocked the attack, however the hand was sent flying back. "Master Hand you're about to learn first hand why I have the triforce of power!" Ganondorf lunged towards Master Hand once again.

* * *

For Alex, he was dreading Monday morning, and going to school. There wasn't any tests that he was expecting, that he didn't study for because of recovering from the battle with Hero. No, the reason he dreaded going to school was because of his accursed hair, it had remained white. No matter what he tried to do with aura control, it wouldn't revert back to what it was previously. Zoroark's illusions were pointless, they had to separate for their classes, and if Zoroark's concentration broke, and his hair just suddenly went white in class... Well there would be far too many questions, so he figured that the best course of action was to just let people think he bleached it.

Even on the bus he was all ready feeling the odd glares from people. As they arrived at school, and in class people were talking behind his back. They were attempting to whisper, but he was able to hear them crystal clear.

"He bleached his hair?"

"What's going on?"

The comments were getting annoying.

"New hairstyle? I like it." Cody laughed.

Alex just glared at him.

"Guess you're not using that barber again?" Cody joked.

"I would punch you right now, if I could." Alex muttered.

"You're going super sayian aren't you?" Cody joked once again.

Alex just pounded his head against the desk. "Why do you have to look after me..." He muttered.

"Sorry, just trying to get some levity out of my situation." Cody sighed. "It's not looking good on my end."

"Is this the Government, or Nugai's end?" Alex said.

"Government." Cody said. "Listen, if you're going to fight any more monsters, when they emerge, be careful. They are going to try and capture, or kill anyone who tries to fight. I also think that if they find out there are 11 other groups, they will be willing to do anything to get them. Even though it appears that you're not exactly on the same team, it might be better for you to warn them."

Alex just nodded. Throughout the first period, he was finding it much harder to focus on the classes.

Suddenly, he found that his aura abilities and senses had been amplified, what he previously had to concentrate to do, now came as second nature, he could see everyone's hidden feelings in the room without even trying. In fact, his range extended throughout the entire school and perhaps even a bit beyond. So much, that he had a bit of sensory overload, and had to put his head down during a class.

"Hey, you okay?" Cody asked.

"Honestly, I'm kind of dizzy."

"Want to take a step outside?"

"I don't think that would help." Alex replied. "It's aura..."

Class ended, they decided to skip the next class, and just wait in the cafeteria. Alex just drank water, and tried to relax.

But that was proving to be quite difficult. He could have heard a pin drop. He heard nearly everything. The current bane of his existence right now was also the obnoxious high frequency ring tones that students had so that teachers couldn't hear when there was a text, or call from one of their friends, that was like nails on a chalkboard "You can go home sick." Cody suggested.

Alex just shook his head. "I'd rather not..."

Cody just laughed. "Geeze, your life has changed in the past week."

"Yes, it has." Alex muttered.

"Look, I'm just saying, that you should forget about school. Your his cousin, you've got enough money to be set for life." Cody whispered. "You should just stay home and defending both worlds should be your full time job now."

Alex just tried to bury his head into his arms and the cafeteria table.

"Okay, how about this. You talk to your cousin about aura control, and figure out how to subdue all of these heightened senses." Cody said.

Alex just continued to sit there, his head on the cafeteria table. He just began to breath in and out, in and out. "No, I think I've got a better idea." Alex laughed, pulling out the AR card. He summoned Mr. AR who just looked at him a bit funny.

"What's that?" Cody asked.

"Mr. AR. Although, he likes to be called Blocky." Alex replied. "He's going to help me a bit. At least I think so, can you help with aura management?"

"Well, sort of." Mr. AR said. "I think you really just need to focus on one specific point. It really should just be like you breathing. Like with anxiety, if you focus on the image of a circle expanding and compressing, and time your breaths with that."

Alex just nodded. Underneath the table, he made a small aura sphere and began to breath in and out, timing it with the expanding and compressing of the aura sphere. After several minutes of doing this, he suddenly felt much more focused. "Thanks, Mr. AR." Alex said.

The little block just returned back into the card.

"Well then, I guess I better get to class." Alex laughed.

Cody just shook his head. "You're not normal." He muttered. "What sort of monster wants to go to school?"

After that school progressed normally.

* * *

Noah was doing what he normally did after school, playing video games online. Already he had changed into pajama pants and an old t-shirt. He just let out an audible sigh. He was finding everything in the online games boring. The same opponents that all went down, most likely shouting and yelling at him, calling him nasty things because they could hardly compare to him. He was thinking of going out to see Lucas, who was most likely still waiting in the cave. Lucas was nice...

And then the door swung open, slamming right into the wall, leaving a rather noticeable dent. Standing there was his father, with a bottle of alcohol in hand. He just glared at the kid and kicked him and then kicked the console, smashing it against the wall. "Good for nothing!" He snapped. "Is this all you do all day?! You're such a loser."

It had been like this ever since his mom had died. Day after day of this. He would use video games to take out his frustrations, and make everything somewhat bearable. That and his space in the forest, the one that Lucas was now in. He was actually rather happy that Lucas was there, he finally had a friend to talk to. But there were things that he didn't even tell Lucas about his life.

His father was in a drunken rage again. The console didn't survive the kick, and the disk was now being scratched by the disk drive. The next thing Noah knew was that he was being lifted up by his shirt.

"You're weak and pathetic!"

After several minutes, Noah was down on the ground. He learned long ago to not to cry, no matter how badly it hurt. Though out the struggle, his 3DS had slid across the ground. His father just looked at it.

"Another worthless thing!?" He said. Raising his foot, ready to stomp down on it. Noah's eyes flared open, suddenly he found his body moving on it's own, he slid across the ground, grabbed the 3DS before his father's foot smashed it, and just held it as close to him as possible.

His father looked at him. "Are you going to protect that worthless thing!?"

"Worthless... no it's not worthless..." Noah said.

"What was that!?" His father said.

"I said it's not worthless." Noah replied. He held on to it. Yesterday after he had woken up from that meeting with Master Hand, there was another swap note on it.

"If you can eliminate Nugai's proxy, I'll grant you any wish you want." It read. Some how he doubted those words, but at the same time, he knew what he'd wish for, a happy family.

"Are you talking back to me?!" His father said, picking up Noah by the shirt once again. "Give me that piece of shit!"

This time, Noah fought back. He just delivered a kick directly into his father's crotch. It was enough to get his father to let go. He just backed up, and quickly grabbed a Club Nintendo messenger bag, with some stuff in it.

"Oh, you're fighting back." His father said, getting up, now more furious than before.

Noah just opened up the 3DS, and pulled out the stylus. He was hoping whatever power Master Hand said that he gave him was of some use. The camera activated on the 3DS and he saw the scene in front of him on the screen. He just touched the screen with the stylus, hoping it would do something.

And do something it did. On the top screen there were now flames, and in reality there was also now flames. Flames that just magically burned off of nothing. In a panic, he began to scribble down, hoping that it would stop his father from getting closer. Soon his father's clothes began to catch on fire, Noah just quickly dodged his approaching father, and watched as the fire began to spread.

"Get back here, I'll kill you, you little shit!" His father screamed. "What the hell did you do?!" Noah quickly ran down to the kitchen.

He just watched as everything began to burn, he tried to put out the flames, but it was pointless. He just began to scream in terror, holding his bag and bolting out of the house. He made his way down the street for several blocks. He just soon stopped running and then heard the sirens. A neighbor must have called the fire department.

He collapsed against a tree, and began to panic. "_Crap!? Where can I go now!? What can I do?!_" He thought to himself. "_There's no way I can face Lucas and tell him what just happened... he wouldn't believe me... and if he did, he would be afraid of me..._" Noah just began to cry, he was alone, and afraid.

* * *

For the most part Tuesday had been peaceful. Alex was actually a bit worried since he was still recovering from his battle with Hero, it would have been an optimal time for anyone to actually fight him, but it seemed like none of the other Chosen Champions were coming to fight him. He expected it would only be a matter of time before Master Hand sent the next one to him. But still with a 14 day deadline, and 3 of those days all ready gone... Maybe Nugai was doing something behind the scenes to make sure he was fully recovered first. But he doubted that. Master Hand had made it abundantly clear that no matter what, he will be hunted down.

He had gotten adjusted to his heightened senses. The best way he could think to describe it was suddenly switching to a bigger TV with a higher resolution, suddenly you saw a lot more, and questioned if certain objects in the background had always been there. Or a new pair of glasses, suddenly the world was just a lot clearer. Mr. AR's advice also helped.

At dinner he sat down in front of the TV, and hooked up his laptop to it.

He quickly did his routine of going through the various news sites. Locally, the biggest story was a house fire the previous night. "A deadly fire of unknown origin has left this house and what was in it as nothing more than a pile of ash. The fire department was able to keep it contained, and keep damage to nearby houses as a minimum, however, one adult has been confirmed dead. Neighbors are expressing concern over the currently missing child depicted here, named Noah. If you have seen him, please contact the authorities." Alex read through the report, and just glanced at the photo of the child on the screen. He must of been only about 11. But he was far more concerned with the fire, and how it had started.

"Z, Saki, Isaac, tomorrow, I think we should check out the remains of the building." Alex said.

The three of them just glanced at him surprised.

"You think it was something emerging?" Isaac said.

Alex just nodded. "Yeah... We'll go check tomorrow after school."

"Why not right now?" Isaac asked. "If it was something that emerged, shouldn't we go, so we can avoid any extra damage."

"If it was something that emerged, it looks like there was another person who took care of it." Alex replied. "And besides, I'm still not feeling all that great after the battle with Hero. Also, others may be observing it right now."

"What if they take all evidence."

"What I'm going to be looking for will stay there for a while." Alex replied. "Aura residue..."

They just nodded.

"Also... It's the Smash Brothers Nintendo Direct today!" Alex replied. "At 6PM..."

"The what?"

"The Smash Brothers Nintendo direct." Alex replied. "Um, Nintendo Directs are these web videos that Nintendo shows for their upcoming games, it's essentially just this video broadcast, that they use to go directly to their customers, and are able to say and show what they want, and there's no fear of the media mixing the message that they have."

"So, it's a gigantic commercial." Saki said bluntly.

"Pretty much." Alex laughed. "And this one is solely focused on Super Smash Bros for the 3DS and Wii U."

"Fine, let's see this." Saki sighed.

They waited and it began to start.

The disclaimer of "May be inappropriate for children" appeared on the screen, soon followed by the words "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / for Wii U" Soon a cinematic began with Kirby flying through space on a warp star, Mario getting up only to be captured in Villager's bug net. Little Mac rapidly punching in his pink jump suit. Link looking up to the top of a cliff to see a silhouette. Mario and Donkey Kong go karting on rainbow road.

"Okay, what's going on!?" Saki said.

"It just appears to be re-cut footage from the previous trailers." Alex replied.

"That's not what I meant..." Saki said. There were soon clear shots of Mega Man, and Wii Fit Trainer. "Some of these people aren't in the Smashers..."

Alex just laughed. "Eh... I don't think you should think about it that much. Just enjoy the show..."

"Agreed." Zoroark added on.

Soon the introduction was over, and there was a person on the screen. "Hello everyone," the clearly dubbed over voice said. "I'm the director of Super Smash Brothers, Masahiro Sakurai."

They just watched the Nintendo direct. Saki occasionally throwing in his two cents. They began to make it a game, just riffing it, and having fun with it. Alex didn't particularly mind, he normally watched a Nintendo direct a few times the week it was released, so he would catch up with anything he missed. He even began to throw in his own quips.

"Boss characters make appearances in other stages, not just this one."

Alex just began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Saki said.

"That shadow is Ridley." Alex replied. "I'm sure the Internet will be tearing itself apart saying how he won't be a boss character, and actually be a fighter..."

The Nintendo direct continued. The next major interruption came during the segment on assist trophies. For a few brief seconds Saki was on the screen.

"Oh yeah, who's awesome." Saki laughed.

The next segment was Pokemon. "A pokeball, who knows what will come out? Opening one is such fun!"

Suddenly Zoroark's interest was perked.

"This time it looks like we got one of these." Sakurai said, holding up a master ball. "This is a Master Ball, only hard to find pokemon come out of these."

"Or if you're twitch plays Pokemon, a Goldeen." Alex said.

"Or a Zapados." Zoroark reminded him.

They continued watching. And then eventually they got to the segment on new fighters, starting with Rosalina and Luma.

"This is just weird." Saki said. "These guys aren't in the Smash Mansion yet."

"Oh?" Alex said, rather interested. "Rosalina and Luma were announced at the end of last year."

"I've never even heard of them." Saki said.

"Same." Isaac added on.

The next character was Little Mac. "Okay, we've seen him." Saki said. "But he's not at the mansion either. He's kind of a celebrity in our world. A professional boxer in the WVBA, known for being able to take down people many times his size, and recently he's been defending his title."

The following character was Villager. "Him?" Alex wondered, genuinely curious about their commentary.

"He's around the Mansion a lot. He lives just five minutes away at a small village known as Smashville." Saki explained. "He plays with the kid Smashers. But, he doesn't exactly strike me as someone who would be a fighter, let alone Smasher material."

The next character was Mega Man. "And Mega Man?"

"He like lives 5 minutes in the other direction at Light Labs." Saki said. "But, he's also not currently a Smasher."

Finally was the Wii Fit trainers. "And them?" Alex asked.

"Well, they are at the mansion, but they are health robots..." Saki said. "They help us train, and exercise."

Alex just nodded. They continued watching the Smash Run segment, and then the trailer showing all of the characters announced so far. As the screen faded to black, Saki and Isaac got up. But there was was suddenly the sound of a heart beat, followed by something metal cutting through something. And the familiar pattern of the offset cross, and fire emerging in the Smash Logo.

A bunch of pokeballs went through the air, landing and opening up, the camera then panned up onto Pikachu who was on a cliff, and behind him was Charizard.

Charizard let out a roar, and the splash screen text appeared.

**Charizard Fires It Up!**

"Wait, what?!" Alex said surprised.

"What's wrong?" Isaac asked.

"Last time he was trio of characters, with Squirtle, and Ivysaur. I mean it makes sense since they just said that transformation characters weren't in this one, but..." Alex said.

They continued watching as Charizard flew in front of Mario. Mario jumped back to Link, Samus, Kirby, and Olimar.

The camera suddenly panned away to a silhouette that made something with it's hands.

Back with Mario, and the others, Mario charged forwards while Captain Olimar threw a pikmin, Samus fired a missile. Kirby swung his star rod, and Link threw the gale boomerang. Charizard rushed forwards, dodging the projectiles. Mario then jumped up into the air, and the two were about to collide, when a water shuriken went between them. The two landed on the ground and looked around, and there they saw hanging off a tree that was on the side of a cliff something hanging upside down. It just slid so that it was standing right side up and then turned slowly. The splash screen appeared.

**Greninja Makes a Splash**

The rest of the trailer played out. Saki was glancing at Alex confused. "That surprised you?" He said.

"Yeah..." Alex replied.

"Well, since you were asking about all the other people shown, and their relation to the Smashers... At the Smash Mansion, Greninja is Master Hand's personal ninja Pokemon bodyguard. In fact, he was even on the list of Smashers that were supposed to come to this world..." Saki said.

"And perhaps one of the most dangerous people there too." Isaac added on. "He will do anything Master Hand says. If I were you, I'd be on the look out for him the most."

"Can I ask why he's loyal to Master Hand?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, it's no secret." Isaac replied. "Master Hand saved it's life. He found it hurt and abandoned as a Froakie. He brought it back to the Smash mansion and helped it heal."

Alex just nodded. "I see." He said. "That's sad, why was it abandoned?"

"We don't know, we're not the person who abandoned it." Isaac said.

"I know that, but, do you have a guess?" Alex asked.

"Dr. Mario speculates that it wasn't a 6 IV Froakie." Saki replied. "That's really the best answer we can give you."

Alex just looked a bit horrified. "A Froakie that's bred for competition." He muttered. While he played the Pokemon games, he really only stayed for the story and the various monsters. He never really went into competitive battling. He always found that he had other games to play. However, that didn't mean he didn't understand the competitive scene. He understood mass breeding, and going through hundreds of eggs just to get the one perfect pokemon with the perfect nature, and 6 IV's. Bred for only one thing perfection, to be a weapon, if it was imperfect it was discarded as it was essentially useless, with very few exceptions, normally revolving around Hidden Power. Rinse and repeat five more times for just a single team, and then, only having them fight certain other Pokemon to gain EV points to be raised perfectly.

Sure for a game where they were just bits of data, it seemed okay. But for actual humans on that side to be doing that? To actual living creatures? Everything about that was completely terrifying to Alex. Nugai had speculated that peoples actions in this world were enough to cause subconscious changes in the other world. If that was one of the changes...

"Master?" Zoroark said. "Are you okay?!"

Alex came back to reality. He just looked around the room. "I think so." He said catching his breath. "Sorry, just the thought of people doing that to actual living creatures..."

"Don't start telling me this world is all sunshine and rainbows!" Saki snapped back. "Animals must be abused and abandoned here too."

"Well yes but, for Pokemon trainers..." Alex began.

"Maybe what you see in this world is just some romanticized version." Saki replied. "But if you're fighting with us, get used to the harsh reality. Our enemies are no different. Discarding whatever is useless and will hold us back. Their soldiers use is only to be a stepping stone for the next generation which will be stronger, and only they will be a stepping stone for the next generation, and it continues. The Smashers are no different either."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

"Why are you asking that?" Saki said. "You did the deed yourself. You got rid of Hero."

"But he was..." Alex began.

Saki just shook his head. "No. You explained what Master Hand said. This is an elimination game to see who is worthy of being with the Smashers. Despite how he said it, it's intent is quite clear. It's weeding out the weak and those who would hold us back. We're no different. Hero was a liability because no Smasher would trust him. Because of that, Hero was dead weight and had to be eliminated."

"Listen, Alex, it may help you right now if you just dispose of any preconceptions about what you think the Smashers are." Isaac said. "We're not beyond underhanded tactics either. We may say nice and flowery words, about how it's a competition, but at the end of the day we're no different. The ones left standing and fighting will be the strongest. In fact, I'd say we're worse, because we disguise it behind those words. Our enemies, they know that the sole reason they were made was so that they could be surpassed by the next generation, there is no deceit there."

Alex just looked at them in shock. He got up and unplugged his laptop from the TV. "I'm going to be resting in my room for a while." He said. "I don't want to be bothered."

* * *

Hades was sitting on his throne, looking rather bored. Walking in to the room was a person clad in black armor. They just bowed.

"You called for me?" They asked.

"Soldier of Zenith, Zero, I want to send you to that world." Hades said. "Carock." A person in a dark blue robe appeared. Around it's neck was a necklace that had a skull ornament. "You are to go with Zero, and follow his orders."

"What of the Hand?" Carock asked.

"Master Hand is preoccupied with something else right now." Hades said. "There seems to be a bit of infighting amongst the Smashers, and his Chosen Champions, I do not know the full extent of what is going on, but I want you two go in and make some chaos."

"Very well."

"It also seems like you should use Zenith's pathway instead of forcing yourself through, it seems like someone is stopping the monsters I send between the worlds."

* * *

Elsewhere, Ganondorf and Master Hand were still fighting. Ganondorf had transformed into Ganon, and was clearly going all out. Master Hand on the other hand was beginning to get exhausted. He wasn't thinking that Ganon would have been capable of fighting this long.

Master Hand just fell onto the hot sand. Ganon reverted back to Ganondorf, who just stepped on the hand's fingers. "You should have known, fighting me in a desert was a bad idea. The heat is just like a day at the beach for me. So, are you going to talk?"

Master Hand just sighed. "I can't."

"You can't or you won't?" Ganondorf asked.

"If it's about Smashville's residents, I did it to protect them." Master Hand said. "I can't let them get caught in the crossfire that may happen. They're too close to the mansion."

"Then why not move the mansion, surely that's in your power."

"I can't, there are historic reasons for why we're so close to Smashville." Master Hand replied. "We're here to protect it and it's secrets. Anything else, like why I had you team up with Hero, I can't explain right now. Nugai may have been lying to me, he may have manipulated everything, and wanted me to take these drastic measures to try and get rid of his proxy, to strengthen him."

Ganondorf just began to walk away. "Fine, I'll accept those answers." Ganondorf said, waving his hand. "At least for now." A dark portal appeared and he stepped through it. "Now get up, we have jobs to do."

Master Hand just clenched the sand frustrated. "Who do you think you are, telling me what to do."

* * *

The next day, Alex, Zoroark, Saki, and Isaac went to the house that had burned down. Alex just looked over the ashes of the building. The place had been taped off, and anyone who had wanted to see the wreck had seen it. The investigators were gone. But for Alex, Saki and Isaac, they didn't need to go beyond the police tape. "This isn't natural." Alex said. "There is that same air from the monster attacks here."

"So, some unlucky person died by a monster being brought to this world. And it emerging right in his house." Saki sighed.

"Not quite, the air is similar, but if it was a monster, I'm sure there would be a lot more damage." Alex said. "The damage here, is just isolated to a single house."

"I agree." Isaac said.

"Not to mention, the memory thing." Zoroark added on.

"So, was it a human, or someone with intelligence emerging from your world?" Alex wondered.

The Smashers just glanced back at Alex. "What makes you think that?"

"Just a small hunch." Alex said. "But there is always the possibility of it just being a complete freak accident. Well, I think I've seen everything I wanted to see, but I just want to do a few more checks with aura."

Saki and Isaac just nodded. "Okay, we're going to head back." they said walking away.

Alex closed his eyes, and tried to see the aura of the objects remains. An object when used by a human, would gain a bit of their aura. It was noticeable on tests, he could tell if someone was feeling confident, or was afraid from looking at test sheets with aura.

Here, he was seeing a lot of frustration, anger, and fear.

"I've seen what I've wanted. Let's go." Alex said.

"Of course." Zoroark replied.

Alex just turned to walk away, however standing in front of them was a young boy wearing a pair of jeans, and a dark shirt and dark heavy jacket, he had blonde hair, that was currently down covering part of his face. He just looked at Alex, and Zoroark rather afraid. "What are you doing here!?" he asked, clearly afraid.

"Just wanted to see the house that burnt down." Alex replied. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you a friend of Noah's?"

"Yeah." The boy replied.

"When was the last time you saw him?" Alex asked.

"Over the weekend..."

"The news of the fire must have been a big shock to you." Alex said.

The boy just nodded.

"You wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?" Alex asked.

"No," the boy replied.

Alex just nodded. "Do you know if he has a cellphone, and have you tried calling it?"

The boy just shook his head. "Sorry, I don't."

"You said that the last time you spoke to him was over the weekend." Alex said. "Can you tell me if he said anything strange?"

"Why are you looking for him." the boy asked.

"It's dangerous to be alone out there right now." Alex replied. "I just think he should get somewhere safe as soon as possible. I'm thinking we're not going to be the only ones here today. Or maybe others have all ready come here..."

Alex began to walk past him, "Wait," the boy said as he tugged on Alex's jacket and pulled him down so he could whisper something into Alex's ear. "Listen, he mentioned something about the Biolizard coming to life, and destroying the sunshine mall, he saw part of you, Saki, and Isaac fighting it..."

Alex just stared blankly at the kid, rather confused. He backed away from the boy, and looked around, Saki, Isaac, and Zoroark had gone. He was just alone with this strange boy, no, that wasn't completely true, there was another person, or thing watching them in the distance. They were concealing their presence rather well. "Who are you?" Alex asked, slightly shifting his wrist so that the card with Toon Link on it, had come out of his sleeve, and was ready to be grabbed at any moment.

"What do you mean?" The boy asked.

Alex just stood his ground. "How do you know that?" Alex said.

"Look, I don't want a fight." The boy said. "I can't explain it right now, but-"

"Hey, Alex!" Saki called. Alex turned around to face him. "Isaac want's to go back to your place for some food!"

"I hear you Saki." Alex said. He turned around to face the boy once again, however he saw that he had begun running away in the other direction. "What the?" He paused for a few seconds, all things considered he could quickly catch up to the kid and get the answers, but his stomach began to growl. "I guess I need something to eat too..." He just turned around and began to run back towards Saki, Isaac, and Zoroark.

"What were you talking to that kid about?"

"Nothing really." Alex replied. "He was friends with the kid who lived there. He was probably wondering why some strangers were in front of his friend's house."

"He whispered something to you, that I couldn't quite pick up." Saki said. "And you seemed rather shocked about whatever he said."

"You could hear our conversation?!" Alex said shocked.

Saki just laughed. "Yeah. Well, at least most of it, except for what he whispered. I've got some pretty good hearing."

"Except when it comes to your mission objectives." Isaac muttered.

"I've got good hearing, memory, not so much." Saki said. "That and I prefer most of my mission objectives to be 'kill everything.' It's a lot simpler that way."

Alex just tried to filter out Saki and Isaac's banter. He was now trying to recount everything in his head. He was observing that person's aura, he was positive that the kid wasn't lying. And perhaps more importantly, Alex was positive that Noah was a chosen champion. After all that was the only way they should be able to retain memories of the monsters emerging. But then there was that other person who was watching them. He had completely forgotten about him, the worst part was: he was still there. Alex just froze. "We're being watched." He said.

"How can you tell?" Saki asked.

"I just can." Alex replied.

He closed his eyes, the person seemed to have realized that they were discovered and began to run away, with a surprising amount of agility. "They ran away." Alex said.

Saki and Isaac just looked around. "I can send some Djinn after them." Isaac suggested.

"No." Alex replied. "I think we'll be fine for right now."

"I think we should investigate it at the very least." Saki said. "You'll be fine on your own, right? You've got Zoroark in case anything happens."

"That really won't be necessary..." Alex sighed, however Saki and Isaac all ready ran off. "Besides, what if they were trying to separate us." But the two Smashers didn't hear that.

Zoroark just sighed. They returned back to the house, actually making their way into the backyard, to enter through the back door.

"That got us nowhere!" Alex said frustrated.

"The fire was two days ago." Zoroark said. "I doubted that there would be any clues left anyways. They would have been confiscated or burned to ashes."

Alex just sighed. "You're right Z. Ah well, let's just relax today since that seems to be rare for us now. How about some-"

There was suddenly a splash in the nearby pond. Alex and Zoroark looked at the pond and just saw ripples extending from the center. There was no fish in the pond, it was just there because of landscaping.

"Or, we're canceling that plan." Alex said frustrated.

He closed his eyes and began to use aura to search around for what caused the splash. Zoroark also got on guard, placing his back against Alex's The two of them just looked around. "To be honest, I'd like to avoid fighting here." Zoroark said.

"Same." Alex replied. "I don't want to explain the damage to mom."

But as Alex looked around with aura he saw that there was no one hiding waiting to ambush them. His eyes then fixed on the shed. He froze and just looked inside. There was a rather weak aura coming from inside. It was scared, and really weak.

"Z, be on guard, but don't transform." Alex ordered.

"Right, Master." He said.

Alex walked to the shed and opened it up. He then stepped in. In the corner, sleeping, was a kid. He wasn't exactly properly dressed. Just a shirt, and pajama pants. He had no shoes or socks on, and across his feet were blisters. He was clutching a Club Nintendo Messenger Bag. Around him was the smell of smoke. Not the nostalgic smell of clothing after a campfire, but something far more sinister.

"What are the odds..." Alex muttered, sleeping there was the kid that was all over the news as missing. Noah.

"Hey are you okay?" Alex asked while lightly shaking the kid. He began to wake up. Alex gave the kid a few seconds to get his bearings straight before asking again. "Are you okay?" He did his best to try and not have any hostility behind his voice. But of course, that didn't help. The kid was absolutely terrified.

"Who are you?" The kid managed to ask, he was trembling.

"That's my question." Alex calmly said. "I'm Alex though. And you're in my shed."

"I'm sorry..." The kid weakly said. "I'll leave..."

He tried to get up but just fell down towards Alex who caught him. Alex immediately noticed how damp his clothes were. "In your current state, I don't think you're in any condition to go anywhere. We're going into the house, and getting you some food to eat."

"You're not mad?" the kid asked.

"I am a bit, but right now, I think that the more important thing is to tend to your health and hear your story." Alex said. He just lifted the kid up and carried him out of the shed. They got back into the house and Alex took him to the guest bedroom. "Do you have any spare clothes?" Alex wondered.

The kid however shook his head. "This is all I've got." he said holding the messenger bag.

"I see." Alex said. "I'll get some of my clothes. They might be a bit too big, but that's fine... they at least won't be damp. If you have the strength you can take a shower now and warm up, I'll get some soup and tea or hot chocolate if you want too."

The kid just looked at Alex in shock. "Why are you being so nice to me? I broke into your shed and..."

Alex just sighed. "We'll worry about all of that later. These are dangerous times to be alone with the monsters appearing and stuff."

The kid just flinched. "Yeah." He said.

"What's your name kid?" Alex asked.

"It's Noah." He said.

"Once again, I'm Alex. All right Noah, do you have enough strength to take a shower?" Alex wondered.

"I think so." Noah replied. Alex helped Noah walk to the washroom.

"I can wash your clothes if you would like." Alex said.

Noah just weakly nodded.

"Do you need help?" Alex asked.

"No I should be fine." Noah replied as he began to take off his shirt.

"One last thing." Alex said. "The water is reversed. Hot is cold, cold is hot."

"Thanks." Noah said passing Alex his shirt. Alex took the shirt but his gaze was frozen on Noah's chest and back. There were several bruises across his body.

Quickly Alex turned away. The kid hadn't even noticed him looking.

"Here." Noah said, shoving the remaining clothes into Alex's arms.

"I'll get these washed." Alex said. "I'll also get some of my dry clothes for when you get out. I'll put them on the counter."

"Thanks." Noah said.

Alex quickly rushed out of the washroom and threw the clothes into the washer. "Shit, that kid must of ran away..." Alex muttered to himself. "He looked like he was abused..." he would have to confirm it with Noah later, but that was his suspicion, and he was beginning to piece everything together.

He quickly got a pair of pajama pants and an old shirt to give to Noah. He knocked on the door and opened it. "I'm placing the dry clothes on the counter." he shouted in.

"Thanks." Noah replied. He just placed them on the counter in the washroom.

He made his way downstairs to see Saki and Isaac standing there. "Guessing you didn't find that person."

"No such luck." Isaac said. "But Zoroark informed us you found someone."

"Geeze, we leave you for a few minutes to chase someone, and you've gone and adopted another kid off of the street." Saki said annoyed. "Here's hoping he lives longer than the last one."

Alex just cringed. "Sorry." He said. "I'll probably call the authorities for him. I know I can't defend him."

"Good." Saki said.

"That is if my suspicion is incorrect." Alex said.

The two of them just looked at Alex in shock. "What do you mean?"

"He might be a chosen champion." Alex said. "And he might be the cause of the fire..."

The two of them just looked at Alex filled with dread. "You may have just let in to your house another psycho that Master Hand sent to kill us?!" Saki said.

"No," Alex said. "I don't think so."

"You don't think so?" Saki said a bit shocked. "Then what do you think?"

"The fire, it might of been self defense." Alex replied.

"Are we back to the monster emerged back in that house theory?" Saki asked. "If it only did that much damage, they should have found the remains. All they found was the remains of his father."

"No, I don't think any monsters were involved." Alex said.

"But you said you thought it was self defense." Isaac pointed out.

"What if it was against another human." Alex replied. "Like someone broke into the house, or-" Alex just paused, the next few words were hard for him to spit out. "Or, his father abused him..."

"But how would you explain that strange air around the house?" Isaac asked.

"You're still getting used to your aura, aren't you?" Saki said. "You're not at 100% right now, and you're senses have all been heightened. And you've only encountered two monsters so far. It could have easily been something else that you mistook for the same air and sensations around the monsters."

Alex just looked at the two Smashers. "I think it's best if we just ask him what happened, and he will hopefully reveal that he's a chosen champion somehow..." Alex said. "Just, I think you should let me deal with him alone, until then can you stay in the basement."

"But what if he attacks you?" Saki asked.

"That won't happen." Alex replied. "Besides I don't want to overwhelm him."

"Fine." Isaac said.

The two just nodded and went downstairs.

Alex returned to the guest room and looked at the messenger bag. He paused for a few seconds and against his better judgement he looked into it. All there was was a 3DS and a game case that held 18 cartridges. He suddenly felt his heart skip a beat as he stared at the 3DS. He tried to turn it on, but the batteries were dead. Quickly he rushed and got a spare cord and plugged in that 3DS. He could have turned on the 3DS then, but he stopped himself. "I'll have Noah tell me himself..."

He rushed down to the kitchen and quickly began to boil some water and make some chicken noodle soup. He was keeping an ear out for when the shower's water would stop running. The soup finished and he just covered the pot. Soon the water stopped running in the washroom. He walked up to the washroom, and just waited.

The door opened and Noah came out dressed in some slightly too big clothes. "Thanks." Noah said.

"Now, let's go downstairs and eat some food." Alex said. He helped the kid walk down to the living room and sat him on the couch. Alex then brought out a small table and the bowl that the soup was in. "Eat up and regain your strength." Alex said.

"Thank you." Noah replied.

"Also, I plugged in your 3DS." Alex said. "I hope that's not an issue."

"That's great! Thank you!' He shouted overjoyed. Alex just went to his own bowl of soup, they watched some shows on TV until they were both done. Alex took the dishes away and then returned to the living room.

"I guess now that you have some of your strength back, I do have some questions." Alex said.

Noah looked a bit afraid, but he accepted it as a necessary evil. "Okay."

"Why were you in the shed?" Alex wondered.

"Well... I ran away from home." Noah said. "And well, I heard that the author who lives here was currently on a tour for her new book. I thought I could hide and no one would find me..."

Alex just sighed. "Yep... that sounds about right. You wouldn't believe the amount of people who think that means that no one is home and try to break in. Thankfully though, we have a really good guard dog."

Noah just looked a bit confused. "I never saw a guard dog."

"It doesn't really matter." Alex said. "He can be a bit lazy at times, and he's not always here."

Noah just looked a bit confused. "A guard dog that isn't always here?"

"It doesn't matter. He could of also sensed that you meant no harm." Alex sighed. He paused for several seconds and just closed his eyes, trying to think how he was going to word this next one. "I saw the bruises on your body." Alex eventually said. "Did you run away because you were abused?"

Noah's happy expression just completely vanished. He grabbed his legs and held them close to his body. There was just silence.

"You don't have to answer." Alex said, after all the answer was all ready clear as day. "Sorry for bringing it up... To be honest, you've been all over the news today and yesterday. About how your house burnt down, and your father is now dead, and that if you're seen anyone should contact the authorities."

"And why haven't you done that?" Noah asked.

"I still have some unanswered questions." Alex replied. "But I think they can wait. You play video games, right?"

Noah just nodded. "Yeah."

"Like what?"

"Minecraft, I like shooting games too." Noah replied. "What about you?"

"Smash, Mario Kart, Monster Hunter, anything that interests me really, so sorry no military shooters or anything like that." Alex replied. "Why don't you come down, my friends and I were going to play some Mario Party, or something."

Noah looked a bit confused but just nodded. Alex helped support the kid and they walked down to the basement. When they got down there Saki, Isaac, and Zoroark were all ready playing something on a TV. "And I got you!" Zoroark laughed.

"Damn it, damn stupid ghost!" Saki shouted annoyed. They turned their attention to Alex and Noah.

"These are my friends, Saki and Isaac. They live here." Alex said. "And you've seen my brother, Nick, but he didn't introduce himself to you. Seems like they are using the TV for Nintendo Land though."

"We can play that too." Noah said. "I haven't played the Wii U, so you're going to have to bear with me."

"Okay." Alex laughed. "But first, house rules are you have to make a Mii." They exited out and just watched as Noah began to make his Mii.

Soon they reentered Nintendo Land and began to play numerous rounds of Mario Chase, Metroid Blast, Pikmin, Luigi's Mansion ghost hunt, Animal crossing sweet days, and Legend of Zelda battle quest. After a few hours, Isaac and Saki got up and walked upstairs.

"It's so great to play with someone." Noah said. He was beginning to cry. "I always used to play alone and playing with friends is so rare..."

"I did once too." Alex sighed.

"But you have a brother to play with."

Alex just froze for several seconds. He glanced at Zoroark, and just smiled. "There are times when even a brother can't be with you." He said.

Noah just looked at Alex a bit confused. "Such as?"

"When I was younger, I wasn't as healthy as I am now." Alex admitted. "I was in the hospital a lot..."

"I'm sorry." Noah asked. "I didn't mean to..."

"It's all right." Alex smiled.

Zoroark stood up. "I'm going to go up too." He said.

"Okay." Alex said. He waited until Zoroark was out of the room, and just faced Noah. He then pulled out his 3DS. "Listen, I've been wanting to say this for a while, but, we've met once before, in Master Hand's dream scape, when he calls together everyone."

Noah just froze. "I don't know what you're talking about." Noah said, but it was quite easy to see that he was lying, Alex didn't even need to rely on aura.

"Your friend, told me you saw us fighting against the Biolizard." Alex said. "You wouldn't have remembered that if you weren't a chosen champion."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Noah repeated, terrified.

Alex just sighed. "Fine, I have no intention of hurting you. If you insist on that you're not a chosen champion, I'll go and call the authorities. You'll be put into foster care..." The room was then filled with an awkward silence, the only source for any actual sound was the now forgotten game, and the furnace deciding to kick in. Alex was just hoping that he'd admit it, but he also guessed that Noah didn't trust him in the slightest, and was looking for the first opportunity to run away once again.

It took Saki coming back down into the basement to break the silence. "We need to talk." He said.

Alex just got up. "Okay." Alex said, placing his 3DS down. "We'll be back down in a few minutes."

"Okay." Noah said.

"Just play whatever on the Wii U until we return." Alex said.

Noah didn't do any actions, he just stared at the gamepad in shock. "He's a chosen champion too?" He glanced over at the 3DS that Alex had left. His eyes darted around the room, specifically at a display sword that was hanging on the wall. All he would have to do was destroy the 3DS that Alex had left, and he wouldn't ask any more questions, it would all be over. He reached over for the sword but then stopped. "_But, if he knew beforehand... And he had my 3DS... He could have ended it whenever he wanted, is he telling me the truth about not wanting to hurt me?_"

* * *

Upstairs, Saki, Isaac, Zoroark, and Alex were talking. "A monster is beginning to emerge." Saki said waving the device.

"Just what we needed right now." Alex sighed.

"Didn't you say your cousin was supposed to be watching and making sure this didn't happen?" Isaac wondered.

"Something could have come up on his end." Alex replied. "He might not of been able to go and meet it, or something. He is technically supposed to be under 24 hour surveillance."

"I've got the general location." Saki said. "However the problem is Noah..."

"I don't think we have a choice, we have to take him, don't we..." Isaac said.

"I'd rather not leave him unsupervised... The worst thing he can do right now is run away." Alex sighed. "What's the area?"

Saki pulled out a tablet and showed the map. Alex just took it and began to zoom out. "Okay, there is a shopping mall a few blocks away... Z get a pair of jeans and a shirt for him, put them in the guest room. I'm going to go get him."

Alex ran down the stairs and rushed to Noah who was now going through the menu looking for something to play. "Sorry." Alex sighed. "But we have to go out to get some groceries. I hope you don't mind coming with us."

"Okay." He said.

They made their way upstairs and Zoroark had all ready put the jeans and t-shirt on the guest room bed, along with a belt. "Just put them over what you're wearing right now." Alex sighed.

Noah nodded. "Is it all right if I bring my 3DS?"

"Yeah, sure." Alex said not even giving it a second thought.

They made their way down to a car and drove out. With all five of them in it it was rather crowded. But within a few minutes they had made it to a grocery store. "We shouldn't be too long." Alex said. "You can stay in here if you want."

Noah just looked up. "Okay." He said.

They got out of the car, going to the trunk to get some bags, and then walked to the grocery store. They left the windows down a bit. Noah just stayed transfixed on his game, when suddenly his 3DS LED began to blink through the colors of green, red, orange, and blue.

Someone just tapped on the window and Noah turned to face him. "Hello fellow chosen champion." He laughed.

"Who are you?" Noah asked.

"A friend. I'm just here to protect you from that guy..."

* * *

"And that's the ketchup." Alex sighed. "Okay, you guys go check up on the portal, I'll pay for this, and then meet up with you."

They nodded and walked out of the store. Alex quickly paid for the stuff and got to the car. However Noah wasn't in it. "Crap... we have a problem." Alex said rather annoyed. He quickly pulled out his cell phone, and dialed Zoroark.

"What is it?" Zoroark asked.

"We have a problem, Noah ran away."

"I'd say we have a bigger problem than that." Saki suddenly replied. Alex assumed that he had just taken the phone out of Zoroark's hands, or Zoroark had it on speakerphone. "That signal, either someone else got to it first, or it was a false alarm... this monster is nowhere in sight."

Alex just closed his eyes and began to use aura to look around. He was doing his best to try and find Noah's aura. But there was a strange aura around the one side of the car.

"That monster may of met with Noah." Alex said.

"I'll try and find him. You guys stay on guard."

"Okay, got it." Saki replied.

Alex just quickly began to run through the parking lot. He was constantly using aura to try and find either that strange aura, or Noah's. "If you're looking for the boy, follow me." A voice said. Suddenly Alex froze.

Alex turned around, there was a person right behind him that he didn't sense, he had that strange wavy aura. Beyond that, Alex couldn't make out any facial features, or any other defining characteristics of this person. It was like somehow this person had that censoring effect that was present in the dream world. "And don't try calling for help." He said.

"I told them to keep an eye out for the monster."

"That won't be necessary, I've all ready taken care of it." the person said.

"Who are you?" Alex asked.

"That is of no importance right now." the person laughed. "But, you can call me Zero. Just follow me."

They began to walk, suddenly there was a distortion in space and they walked through it. All Alex could tell now was that they were in an old abandoned warehouse.

"You'll find him somewhere in here." Zero said. He just disappeared once again. This Zero person scared him. The weird aura... everything about Zero was unnatural.

Alex just made his way through the warehouse, he glanced at his cellphone, there was no signal. He was assuming that Zero had done something to block it. He used aura to find Noah's location, and quickly rushed up to the room. "Noah, I found you." He said rather relieved.

Noah however had a rather serious look. He was frustrated, and clearly angry. "You're here to kill me!" Noah snapped.

Alex just looked at him rather shocked. "What?"

"You're a chosen champion too!" Noah said. "You had no need to go out, you were just taking me out to destroy my 3DS!"

"Listen-" Alex said.

Noah just glared. "Don't play dumb! You knew this whole time, you tried to sneak a peak at my 3DS, but the batteries were dead, and you were recharging them just to make sure! You were just pretending to be friendly the whole time so you could eliminate me."

Alex just cringed. "I had my suspicions, and I have to be careful."

"And to top it all off you're the one that everyone is supposed to eliminate!" Noah said. "You're just going to take me out of the picture because I don't have my Smashers yet, right!?"

"What?!" Alex said shocked.

"Zero told me everything about you!" Noah snapped.

Alex just let off a heavy sigh. "Shit, I just walked right into a trap... Listen, Noah, I don't even know why Master Hand or the Smashers hate me, or don't want me to be a chosen champion."

"Don't make excuses!" Noah shouted. "You were at my house earlier too to try and find me!"

"So, everything I suspected was true." Alex said.

"You're right." Noah laughed. "I was abused. My mother died, and my father became some alcoholic! He took out his frustrations on me! He called the games I played worthless while he just sat on his fat ass and watched TV all day!"

Alex could see a dark aura coming off of him. An unnatural dark aura that only seemed to be amplified by his negative feelings.

"When I got that swapnote, I thought things could change for the better!" Noah shouted. "And then you the 13th person showed up! And then how you and everyone else has their Smashers, but I haven't received mine yet! It's all a joke, isn't it?! I'm just the punchline and you're all laughing at me!"

The dark aura exploded and consumed him. Alex just closed his eyes. "It's not a joke." He said. "But it seems that some outside force has made it come to this. I'll stop you."

Noah opened his 3DS and suddenly fire erupted all over the room. Alex just remained calm and put up an aura barrier around him.

* * *

Outside, Saki, Isaac and Zoroark were looking around for any trace of the monster. "There aren't even any signs of a battle." Saki said frustrated.

"This is just getting frustrating." Isaac said.

Zoroark was just looking at his cellphone. "This isn't like Master at all." He said. "He would have called back, or sent a text by now asking if there was any changes."

The two Smashers just glanced at each other. "Think this was all a trap?" Saki said rather annoyed.

"Most likely." Isaac replied. "They wanted to get us separated from Alex, so that we couldn't back him up..."

They suddenly heard an explosion. They began to rush through the streets until they saw an old abandoned warehouse on fire. "I think we may of just found our monster and Alex." Saki said.

However a crowd was all ready forming, so they couldn't jump into the building. Even if that crowd of people wasn't there, the doors and windows on the first floor were boarded shut. There didn't seem to be any fire escapes either.

* * *

Alex just looked forwards at the raging inferno that tried to consume him. He was sweating. "What I'd do for a water Pokemon right now." Alex sighed. He hoped Zoroark didn't hear that one, he'd never hear the end of it.

He began to run towards Noah, but the fire danced and did what it could to keep him away. The room was also filling up with smoke too. Alex just quickly covered his nose and mouth with his t-shirt, to at least filter out some of the air. But that didn't stop the smoke from stinging his eyes.

However, one of the first things he learned was that Noah could actually bypass his aura barrier with the fire. While he could push away any that was burning on something with aura, the fire that appeared in the air he had no such luck. It was as though it was magical, it didn't need any fuel to burn, and didn't abide by any laws of reality.

Alex just looked around, the fire had spread everywhere in this room, there was no chance that he could stop it now, they were just both inside a burning building. One of them had to be defeated, or else they both would die here.

"Mr. AR!" Alex said, in his hand appeared the little block.

"What is it?" Mr. AR asked. "And I told you, call me Blocky."

"Listen, is your super secret special ability of any use in this situation?" Alex wondered.

Mr. AR just looked around the raging inferno. And then at Alex. "Are you crazy!? Calling me in some place this dangerous!?" He shouted, jumping up and down outraged. "What if I die!?"

"I'm going to take that as a no." Alex muttered, dodging several fireballs that were sent his way.

"Hey, where are the other 3?" Mr. AR wondered.

"We were separated." Alex said rather frustrated, using the Toon Link card to summon a sword and cut through another fireball. However, he quickly learned that the metal sword got really hot really quickly, and returned it back as a card.

"You're really stupid, falling right into an enemies trap." Mr. AR said.

"Oh shut up." Alex muttered. "Look, do you have a cooling function or something?"

"Nope." Mr. AR said. "I don't know what even gave you that idea. And even if I did, if you treat me like that, I won't help you unless you get on your hands and knees and beg."

"That's not happening any time soon." Alex replied.

"Anyways, there is one ability that all chosen champions have, in the event that they're separated from their Smashers." Mr. AR said.

"And what's that?" Alex asked.

"Well, you can summon them, wherever they are." Mr. AR replied. "You just need to open a portal, and shout, 'summon' followed by their name."

"Well, it's worth a shot." Alex said. "Summon Isaac!"

However nothing happened. Mr. AR just looked at Alex a little annoyed. "I said you needed to create a portal!" He shouted.

"And how do I do that?" Alex replied.

"You focus your energy in front of you, and make one!" Mr. AR replied.

Noah however wouldn't allow Alex to sit still and do any of that. At any second Alex thought he had a chance, Noah would just send more fire his way, causing him to jump out of the way.

"Crap, if I can't summon them, if only I could contact them." Alex muttered.

"Well, you can do that too." Mr. AR said. Alex just glared at the little box.

"Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"You didn't ask." Mr. AR said.

"And what about when you were going over the cards abilities?" Alex wondered. "Why didn't you mention it then?"

"Because it's not a card's ability. It's right there with the chosen champions, it's a function of the 3DS." Mr. AR replied. "You can establish a psychic link to the Smashers under your control. You should have read the manual."

Alex just sighed. "Okay, how do I do that?" Alex asked.

"Well, there's the digital manual when you select the folder..." Mr. AR replied. "Then you read the words with your eyes and your brain-"

"I meant establishing the psychic link you smart ass!" Alex snapped.

"Well, normally you have to use the 3DS, but I can set up the psychic link for you." Mr. AR said.

"Okay, do that!" Alex said.

"Psychic link established." Mr. AR said.

Alex just nodded and faced Noah, dodging his constant fire attacks. "_Saki, Isaac, Zoroark, can you hear me?_"

"_What's happening?_" Saki suddenly shouted.

"_Listen, we can apparently talk telepathically," _Alex sighed. "_Mr. AR just told me, anyways, I found Noah, he's in this burning building, can you guys come?_"

"_Sorry, we can't do that._" Isaac said. "_We're outside of it, and well, there's a crowd here, we can't jump in._"

Alex just cursed. "_Fine, I'll try to end this quickly, just once I get out of here, I'm probably going to need you to carry me away._"

Alex just looked straight at Noah. "Stupid trap..." Alex muttered. "I'm not going to forgive you Zero..."

Alex just focused his attention on Noah, it was quite clear that Noah was long gone. "I'll show you all! I'll burn you all down to the ground. I'll make sure that only ashes remain!" Noah shouted.

The fire began to get more and more intense. Alex just stood there, constantly trying to keep up his barrier. But, the heat was getting far too much for him.

"Stop!" Alex shouted.

Noah just continued to laugh. The person that was there had long since snapped. "You think you can stop me? Just try, you're going to die!"

Alex just looked at the 3DS in Noah's hands. There was only one way to end this. It would end with one of their 3DS' breaking.

Off in the distance he could hear sirens. "_Saki, Isaac, listen, you two need to hide the fire department is coming._"

"_Why do we need to hide?_"

"_This was a set up!_" Alex said. "_The person responsible for this might of called them, and let them know that we are also going to be there. They might be sending in the full force. Tei also warned me that in the future they will be trying to catch us._"

"_And how are you going to escape?_"

"_I'll figure that out as I go!_" Alex said.

He just focused his attention back to Noah.

Noah just began to cough. It was evident that despite having control over the flames, the smoke was a different matter. He was still being affected by them. Alex also figured that he most likely didn't have complete control over the flames. Once an object caught on fire, it became a normal fire and was no longer under his control.

A nearby window broke, and several stones were thrown through it. Alex looked a bit confused, but quickly grabbed one of the rocks off of the ground. "_Was somebody outside trying to let the smoke out? Did Saki and Isaac throw these to me?_" He thought. "_Whatever, I'll use them!_"

The flames began to erupt towards Alex, he quickly jumped from side to side to avoid each attack. Despite the conditions, Noah was still attacking, and had also made the other rocks inaccessible. Alex just clenched the one he had in his hand. "Looks like I've only got one shot." He said.

He began to rush for Noah, and fire suddenly blocked his way. Alex threw the rock and it rushed and hit the 3DS knocking it out of Noah's hands and onto the floor.

But the fire that Noah could control immediately disappeared. Noah himself seemed to have fainted, either from the smoke, or from shock. Alex quickly rushed towards the 3DS. And quickly inspected it. It wasn't broken, his attention was on the plastic shell featuring Link riding Epona over Hyrule field. There was a noticeable crack in the plastic, but it had done it's job and stopped the rock from breaking the 3DS. He then noticed that the area was actually wet, there was a puddle of water there. It was quickly evaporating.

Alex then remembered that he was kind of, sort of in a burning building. He grabbed the 3DS and then quickly put it in his pocket and then reached for Noah. However, from Noah's body came a shadowy specter. It was covered in dark robes, the only other difining thing about it was a skull necklace.

"Who are you?" Alex asked.

"You can call me Carock." The thing said.

"You were the cause of the dark aura that I saw in him?" Alex asked.

"Yes." Carock replied. "He was so weak, and afraid, it was so easy taking him over, although I guess I disappointed Zero, not being able to kill you. But I guess I can still kill you both here."

Alex just took Noah and placed him on his back. He grunted. The kid was rather heavy. Alex just glared at Carock. "Zero..." Alex muttered. "This whole thing was a trap from him."

Carock began to fire several fireballs towards Alex, who did his best to jump out of the way. However, between Noah being on his back, and trying to avoid fire, it was rather difficult. Several fireballs hit him and exploded. When he regained his bearings he looked for Carock. However he had vanished.

"You seem to have a lot of dead weight, why don't I get rid of it?" A voice said from behind him.

Alex quickly turned around to receive a blast from Carock at point blank. He went flying back, however managed to stay on his feet. He just looked at where Carock used to be, however he had teleported away once again.

"He's just dead weight." Carock said, firing more fireballs, after every fireball he teleported to a new spot, to fire a new one. "What he said while I was possessing him, was true. What he truly thought about you."

Alex just kept on dodging the attacks, however between the fire, and the smoke, it was getting dangerous. Not to mention he couldn't counter attack with his hands tied. Carock began to fire some energy waves, Alex just quickly bolted looking for a place in the warehouse where fire hadn't spread yet.

Noah just began to cough.

"Damn it..." Alex muttered.

"Why don't I just kill you both?" Carock said teleporting behind Alex. Alex quickly turned around and delivered a kick to where Carock was standing. However, just as soon as his foot got close, Carock teleported away.

Alex just looked rather frustrated. He let go of one of Noah's legs and just raised his arm. He charged up an aura sphere, and launched it at a wall. However, before the aura sphere could hit the wall Carock sent a fireball at it causing it to explode.

"You're not going to make it out of here alive." Carock laughed.

Alex just slid Noah off of his back and placed him on the ground. He formed a giant aura barrier that pushed the fire and smoke away, at least for now. He just looked around the room. Carock began to fire several fireballs at the barrier. Upon seeing that they did nothing Carock fired several shadowy balls at the barrier, upon contact they began to eat away.

"You're powerless against me." Carock laughed.

Alex just closed his eyes and looked through the whole building using aura. There wasn't a room that wasn't on fire, pretty soon, the building would start to collapse. "I'm sorry." Alex said, "I'm going to have to leave you for a few seconds."

He just began to walk away from Noah and towards Carock. "Oh, have you finally accepted that you can't protect both of you at the same time? Are you leaving him to die?"

Alex just shot a constant beam of Aura up through the ceiling and through several floors. "First, I'm giving the smoke an exit from here." Alex said. "Second, I'm not abandoning him."

Carock suddenly teleported right beside Noah, he had his hand facing him, and a fireball was charging. "Really? Let's see you save him."

Alex just smiled. He threw a rock at Carock's hand, when it hit, it moved his hand away from Noah, and he fired elsewhere. Alex suddenly disappeared and reappeared right in front of Carock. He just sent a blast of aura through the monster, sending it flying back into an inferno, Alex followed through with another aura sphere, right at the ceiling, causing debris to fall on top of Carock.

Alex just lifted up Noah, and carried him in front of him.

He just began to walk through the blaze, using a barrier of aura to keep it away. Suddenly he saw what appeared to be an exit. The fire had been doused in spots, along with there being more puddles of water. "No time to second guess it now!" Alex shouted, trying to muster courage and strength. He ran through the blaze and to a broken window. He looked outside, it was a rather big drop. Regardless, this was probably the only way out alive...

He just swallowed his fear and jumped through the window. Suddenly a glowing hand shot up from the ground and caught them. Slowly it lowered them to the ground and Saki and Isaac rushed up.

"You're safe." Saki said.

"We need to get out of here." Alex said falling forwards. Saki, Isaac, and Zoroark quickly caught him and Noah.

"You're not going anywhere!" Carock said teleporting in.

"I found the monster too." Alex weakly muttered.

"Good, I'll take care of him." Saki laughed, rushing forwards, touching Carock, and then the two disappeared. A small cube dropped to the ground.

"What just happened?" Alex asked.

"A pocket dimension." Isaac replied. "They're fighting in that cube." Isaac just stretched out his hand, and a glowing hand went over and picked it up, and brought it back to him. "Now we need to get out of here."

Alex just nodded. "Zoroark, take Noah."

"Right, Master." Zoroark said.

Isaac helped support Alex and they began to walk away. "Isaac, thanks for clearing the way with douse." Alex said.

Isaac however looked confused. "I didn't use douse." He managed to say.

Alex just closed his eyes. "I see." He managed to say. "Must of been someone else."

* * *

Saki just looked at Carock. "All right now we can fight."

"What just happened? Where did you take me?"

"We're just inside a pocket dimension." Saki replied. It looked like a large open square field, about 40 meters in each direction, and then, there was clearly what looked like a painted wall. "A small battle arena where we can fight to our hearts content. It's normally used for training as Smashers. Or containing people. The only downside about it is we can't use it for the bigger monsters, only human sized ones."

"I will not be contained..." Carock said, charging up several fireballs, and throwing them at the walls of the arena. However as the smoke cleared, the walls weren't damaged.

"Sorry." Saki said. "But, this is built with containing a Smasher and their fight in mind, along with whatever items they have. You don't stand a chance."

Carock just looked at Saki. "Well, I'm glad I'm out of that building now." It said. "I can now use my other abilities besides just fire. I'll show you the true extent of my pow-"

Saki however punched Carock and sent him flying. He took out his cannon sword and began to rapidly shoot at Carock. "Less talking, more fighting." Saki said.

Carock just began to get up, and sent a beam of dark energy right at Saki who just jumped out of the way. Carock quickly followed up with several fire balls, that he shot at Saki. Saki however just slashed them back at Carock. They hit and set his robe on fire. Carock just threw off his robe, revealing himself to be a tall blue skinned zombie like creature.

"I've had it!" Carock shouted, summoning a staff. He slammed the staff down onto the ground, and suddenly everything was covered in ice. Saki suddenly found himself attached to the ground.

Carock began to rapidly teleport around, and fire waves of energy at Saki. Saki just let off a heavy sigh. "You really aren't worth the effort!"

He began to rapidly slash all attacks, sending them back to where they came. He broke free from the ice's grip and rushed right for Carock, who just kept teleporting away and launching more and more waves of energy towards Saki.

He just continued teleporting around to avoid Saki. Carock swung the staff, and this time summoned several Redeads, which let out a piercing howl that would paralyze any normal person. Saki too was affected. He suddenly couldn't move and several Redeads began to approach him. Carock also sent several balls of magic towards him that hit.

Having regained control of his body, Saki rushed for the Redeads and cut through them with his cannon sword. Carock quickly teleported away, however Saki raised his canon sword and shot at where he appeared. The shots hit, stunning Carock. Saki quickly rushed up and impaled Carock with his cannon sword. He pulled it out and then slashed through him several times. After several seconds the body was set on fire and burned until not even ashes remained.

Saki just let off a heavy sigh. "Damn it!" He shouted frustrated. "I thought you would actually be a challenge!"

* * *

As they had gotten a considerable distance, Alex just sat down on the ground. He looked up at Isaac and Zoroark. "Place him on the ground."

"What, why?" Isaac asked.

"He inhaled too much smoke." Alex replied. "I'm going to try and use aura to get it out of him."

The two just nodded. Zoroark placed Noah on the ground, and Alex just put his hands on his chest and closed his eyes. A few minutes later, Alex got up. "Okay, I believe I got it all out of his system." Alex said.

Isaac just helped him back up, and Zoroark picked up Noah.

Suddenly the cube began to glow. A few seconds later, Saki reappeared. "Geeze, that guy likes to teleport around." Saki said annoyed. "Well he's dead now." His eyes however just focused on Noah. "Why hasn't he disappeared? Didn't that happen the last time a 3DS was destroyed."

"His 3DS isn't destroyed." Alex sighed. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. They all stared at the item in shock.

"Why do you still have it?! We better destroy it now." Saki said reaching for his canon sword.

"No, stop! I won't destroy it." Alex said. "I tried to in there, but something happened..."

"What?"

Alex just shook his head. "We need to go back home. That's all. He wasn't himself, that monster possessed him and besides, if we destroy that 3DS, he has nowhere to go. Let's just get back home, we all need rest."

* * *

Noah woke up in a bed. It took him a few seconds to get his bearings. The first thing that he noticed was that he wasn't in his room. He looked around. He had been sleeping on a pullout couch. There was a TV and a bunch of consoles hooked up to it. There was a shelf full of games. He just looked around really confused. By his side was his 3DS, along with a note:

_Sorry I've got to go somewhere else, I'll be back soon, Saki and Isaac will take care of you._

_P.S. Sorry about your 3DS case, I'll buy you a new one._

Noah was a bit shocked. He got up out of the bed and realized that he wasn't wearing his clothes. Just clothes that were a few sizes too big.

"So, you're up." A voice said. He turned to face Saki who was sitting on a chair. Slowly everything began to come back to to him, and he let out a terrified scream.

* * *

It was about 9 PM when, Alex returned home, at his side was Zoroark. "That was a frustrating, and worthless visit." Alex sighed. No matter when he showed up previously to see his cousin he was always able to talk and see him. But this time it was different.

Nugai was there, he just was sitting there facing the wall. "I have nothing to say to you." Was all he said, and then he proceeded to ignore Alex.

"Urrgh... and we tried our best to get there before closing hours too." Alex muttered.

Zoroark just looked at his master. "What about that boy?"

"We'll see if he's regained consciousness now." Alex said.

"Are you sure you should of brought him back here?"

"I'm positive." Alex said. "He has nowhere else to go, right, besides I think this might be a good chance to get some answers."

"But, what if he's just waiting to attack you again. Why didn't you destroy his 3DS when you had the chance?"

"I figured it was fate that stopped it from being destroyed the first time." Alex replied.

They made their way down into the basement. They walked in and saw Saki, Isaac, and Noah playing games together. The pull out bed had been transformed back into a couch and they were now just shouting at each other, almost like friends.

"Hello." Alex said.

And just like that, everything went silent. Only the audio from the game, currently New Super Mario Bros. U, could be heard. One of them quickly paused the game.

Alex just sat down on a chair. Noah just looked absolutely terrified.

"I see you're up." Alex said. "I know you're afraid, and you probably don't want to talk about this, but, I think we might as well just get it over with, Noah."

Alex just placed his 3DS on a coffee table that was in front of him.

"We're both Chosen Champions." Alex said. "You currently don't have your Smashers, and we're probably scaring you." Noah nodded. "I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk about what happened today."

"What is there to talk about?" Noah asked.

"How much of what you said was you, and how much of it was the person controlling you?" Alex said.

"It was really all me." Noah said. "Carock just made it so that I wasn't afraid to speak my mind..."

"Carock?" Isaac said.

"That things name..."

"The monster that possessed you then." Alex said. Noah just nodded as a response. Alex closed his eyes. "So, I was correct, you were abused. And you killed your father with your power. That ability to start fires."

Noah just went white. "That's right..." He muttered. "I did that, didn't I?"

Alex just sighed. "Saki, Isaac, Zoroark, can you three go up and make tea?"

They looked a bit confused. "Isn't only one of us necessary?" Saki questioned.

"Just go make some tea for all of us." Alex said.

They obeyed, and walked out of the room. Alex just reached into his pocket and pulled out a swiss army knife, and put it on top of the 3DS. He just slid the 3DS over to Noah, who looked confused. "You can destroy my 3DS if you want." Alex said.

"What?" Noah said surprised.

"I wondered if you were scared because we outnumbered you and over powered you." Alex replied. "That's why I sent them out."

Noah just looked at the swiss army knife. He reached for it and grabbed it, and then opened it. He just looked at the knife and then at Alex's 3DS.

"You don't have your Smashers yet, do you know why?" Alex wondered.

Noah just shook his head. "No, they never appeared in front of me, and after today, I doubt they will. They probably will just ignore me, and go back... I'm worthless..."

"I don't think so." Alex replied. "You made mistakes and can correct them."

Noah just shook his head. "There are things I can't correct... You should of just destroyed my 3DS. Why didn't you?"

Alex was a bit shocked. "During that battle I tried." Alex said. "But that case protected it."

Noah looked at his 3DS. There was a crack on the cover. "And then, after that the building was coming down, we were constantly being attacked by Carock, so I was more concerned about saving you rather than destroying your 3DS..."

Noah just shook his head. "Wait... I must of inhaled a lot of smoke..." Noah said.

"I used some aura to push it out of you." Alex replied.

"Why?" Noah asked.

"To help you." Alex replied.

"Why didn't you just take me to a hospital then?" Noah asked.

"Because, they can't be trusted." Alex replied. "And I hate hospitals."

Noah put the knife down and just looked completely terrified. He began to shake. "Why didn't you destroy my 3DS, when the battle was over?"

"Because, I don't think I could willingly send you back to your previous life." Alex replied. "From my understanding, you would be sent back to before you got the message, your mother wouldn't be alive, and your father would still be an abusive alcoholic."

"Why did you give me that knife?" Noah asked.

"A test." Alex replied. "To see if my trust in you was well placed."

"But... if I destroyed that 3DS..."

"Nothing would have happened." Alex replied. He reached into his pocket and pulled out another 3DS, and placed it down on the coffee table. "Well, I'd have to explain to Z, why his 3DS has a giant knife mark in it, but that's nothing money couldn't fix."

"Why do you trust me?" He asked. "I could try and destroy your 3DS again."

Alex just nodded. "That is a possibility. But I think you should realize that one person won't be able to end this crisis alone. I want you to join me."

Noah was shocked to say the least. "I can't control my power." He said. "I don't have any Smashers, I tried to kill you. I'm useless, why do you want me?"

Alex just sighed. "You're not useless." Alex said.

"Yes I am! Everyone thinks I'm useless! Even Master Hand!" Noah shouted. "How else can you explain why everyone else has 2 Smashers. Even you the one everyone is supposed to eliminate."

It was sad. In front of him was a kid who had been told that he was useless so many times that he believed it. He was abused. He was just broken.

"You're good at playing video games though, right?" Alex asked.

Noah just froze.

"I mean, we were playing earlier, and I saw you playing with Saki and Isaac, and while they aren't great, they certainly are good." Alex said. "You've got to have other talents, right?"

"That won't get me anywhere in life." Noah said.

"I think that's someone else talking, not you." Alex said. "And rather unrealistic when there are people who are making their living off of playing games online."

Noah just looked up at the other person.

"You love video games, you have to otherwise you wouldn't of been chosen to be a Chosen Champion." Alex said.

Noah just looked down at the bed. "Master Hand said that anyone else would do. We're just lucky. We got chosen by some raffle, nothing more, nothing less."

"You need to be more positive." Alex sighed.

"Maybe you need to be more realistic... then again you were just put into this by that insane person." Noah said.

"He's my cousin." Alex said. "And I assure you, he's perfectly sane, most of the time."

"But aren't you upset? I tried to kill you!" Noah shouted.

"I figure what's done is done." Alex said. "No need being upset over what has happened in the past. We have bigger things to worry about in the future. Starting with probably Zero."

Noah just froze at the name.

"He was the one who set us up to fight to kill each other right?" Alex asked.

Noah just nodded. "Yes. He said he was a chosen champion and would protect me from you..."

"A chosen champion?" Alex said a bit confused. "He's dangerous, even more dangerous than Hero..."

"But he was the one who put Carock in me." Noah said. "He said it would strengthen me, and help me beat you, and then everything after that is just a blur."

"_What's going on, this Chosen Champion could control Carock?_" Alex thought. He just looked at Noah. "Thanks, what you've said has been a big help. So, can I count on you in the future?"

Noah just looked down at the floor. "Why? I'm useless, I'd wouldn't be able to help without any Smashers..."

Alex just sighed. "You're just going to get bitter again, aren't you? Maybe you should stop lying to yourself. There is no way everything in the universe is conspiring to humiliate you."

Noah was quiet for several minutes. He then eventually just collapsed on the couch. "Leave me alone, I'm tired." he said.

Alex just nodded. "I'll be upstairs if you need to talk." He walked upstairs. He got to the kitchen were Saki, Isaac and Zoroark were waiting for a kettle to boil. They just looked at him.

"And what was that about my 3DS having a knife mark through it?" Zoroark asked annoyed. His claws glowing with a dark energy.

"Don't worry." Alex said, "It's perfectly fine." He walked over to the cupboard where there were the mugs.

"So, you really want him to join us." Isaac said.

"Yeah, I think it's probably for the best."

"And what are you going to do if Noah betrays you at any second?" Saki asked shocked.

"Nothing." Alex replied. "That's all I can really say, isn't it? If he does, it would probably all ready be too late for me."

"This is dangerous though!" Saki shouted. "Master Hand has ordered everyone to try and get rid of you, you're now just giving them the perfect inside man."

"Even so, I trust him."

"That's stupid!" Saki shouted. "Why do you trust him?"

"The same reason I trust you two." Alex said. "Going by how much Master Hand hates me, surely must of ordered you two to abandon me, or return back to your base. Or kill me at a moment's notice. And yet you still stand beside me."

Saki just cringed.

"Que Sera Sera."

"What?"

"It's a saying, it means whatever will be, will be." Alex replied. "That's all."

"Are you just stupid though?!"

"Besides, its' not like he has anywhere to go. He has no family, no Smashers, we can at least protect him." Alex said.

"We can, but do we want to?" Saki snapped. "He's dead weight! Especially if he keeps on repeating that he's useless. Do you remember the last person you tried to protect? He's dead now!"

Alex just unplugged the kettle, even though it hadn't boiled yet. They all just looked at him a bit confused. "Why did you do that?"

"Let's go back down to the basement." Alex said. They followed him, but soon found the basement abandoned. There was only an open window.

"So Noah ran away." Isaac sighed.

"Looks like it." Saki said.

"Find him quickly." Alex ordered. "He's in danger."

The two Smashers just looked at him shocked.

"What? Why?"

"The person who sent him after me will most likely go after him now." Alex explained. "Someone has been watching us from a distance for most of the day. And then there is Zero. I don't know who this Zero is, but, he's dangerous."

"Wait, who's Zero?" Isaac asked.

"He was the person who led me to Noah in the warehouse." Alex replied. "Now go."

"Okay."

They quickly rushed upstairs and out of the house. "Zoroark, come with me." Alex said.

"What are we going to do?"

"Find Noah." Alex said. "I have a bad feeling about all of this."

The two of them rushed out of the house.

Elsewhere, someone was watching from a distance. "Seems like that Zero person was correct." One person said. Beside him was another person, who was just fiddling with his 3DS.

"I think we can get rid of them both now." The one said.

"Yes, it seems like they have formed an alliance, that might be troublesome for us. I'll quickly eliminate the weakling." The first person said. "And then I'll join up with you and fight against the one Master Hand wants eliminated..."

"Understood."

* * *

Alex was rushing through the streets, with Zoroark beside him. It was now about 9:30 PM, and the streets were dark, so they weren't exactly worried about being seen. "Can you smell him nearby?" Alex asked.

Zoroark just shook his head. "Sorry Master." He said.

"That's not good." Alex said. "With out the Smashers, he will be an easy target for the other Chosen Champions, if they want to eliminate someone."

"I'll try to find him." Zoroark said.

Zoroark jumped up onto a roof of a house and then made his way to the to top of a giant tree. He looked around as far as he could see. Alex just closed his eyes and began to think. "He could only go on foot, so he couldn't of gone far."

Zoroark jumped down onto the ground, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't find him."

"That's okay." Alex said. "We seem to have company following us. Keep searching, I imagine he's only after me. I'm going to look in the forest."

Zoroark nodded and then quickly began to run off. Alex on the other hand dashed towards a forest, and then eventually a clearing. He then turned around and waited for the person who was following him to show himself.

A person about 16 stumbled out of the bushes and in front of Alex.

"So, you've been following me." Alex said.

"Yeah." The person said. "Now then, why don't we just get this over with."

Alex just sighed. "I don't have time for this." He said. "I'm only here to find Noah."

"The kid that ran out of your house?" The person said. "I imagine by now he's long gone and out of this game."

"He's still alive." Alex said. "But if you're going to stop me I can't give you the same guarantee."

"Interesting, well then, number 13 let's fight!"

**Chosen Champion Candidate #13 Alex VS Chosen Champion candidate # 7 (Name Unknown)**

The ground underneath Alex suddenly opened up.

"What the hell?" Alex said rather confused. The ground, in a perfect square had sunk down into the ground.

"Welcome to the end."

"Your number?" Alex asked.

"7."

Alex looked at Number 7. "I guess you're here to try and kill me."

"Yes." Number 7 said. "You're all alone, without any Smashers to protect you. If you just hand over your 3DS, I promise that I will just destroy that and be on my way."

"Sorry, but I refuse." Alex said.

"Then I apologize." Number 7 said. An arrow suddenly flew from up above and narrowly missed Alex. Another one flew towards him, and Alex quickly blocked the attack by summoning his sword from the Toon Link card.

"I really hate to say it, but you won't be able to eliminate me like that." Alex laughed. The truth of the mater was that with all of the commotion, he had left his 3DS back on the coffee table in the basement.

From the ground and the walls several spires shot out to try and restrict Alex's movements, however he just cut through them with his sword, and they would then immediately retract back into the wall or ground.

Alex just looked through the trees. It didn't take long to find the Smasher, especially since the cover of darkness from the night was nothing with the help of aura. He was jumping through the trees, and constantly changing spots.

Another spire rushed for Alex. He quickly moved out of the way. "Come on, why don't you come and face me like a man?" Alex asked. However number 7 didn't fall for the taunt.

"No, my victory is assured this way. You will eventually slip up." Number 7 said

Alex just grunted rather annoyed. "So we're doing this the hard way. Fine by me!"

Several arrows rushed for Alex, he just dodged them and began to run for the wall of the hole that he was in. It was 10 feet deep, he jumped into the air and grabbed onto the dirt, desperately trying to create something for him to grab onto.

Several more arrows rushed for him, and he had to let go so that they missed. A spire then came out of the wall that barely missed Alex. He just laughed, quickly jumping onto the spire and quickly jumping up to grab the edge of the hole.

Alex then felt a sharp pain go through his hand he looked up to see someone stepping on it. A humanoid wolf.

**Wolf O'Donnel**

"Sorry, I'm sure you're a nice guy, but right now I have a job to do." He said pointing his blaster at Alex.

He fired without hesitation. However despite firing at point blank, the laser never hit Alex. It just disappeared as though it hit a barrier. Wolf just stared in shock, the few seconds was enough for Alex to get his hands out from underneath him and get up on the ledge.

Wolf tried to kick Alex, however he reacted rather quickly and jumped back.

"Was that?" Wolf said confused. "That must be the reason why Master Hand sees you as a threat. Link, get down, we have to get rid of him quickly!"

A person dressed in green dropped down.

**Link**

"Don't order me around." Link said. He began to draw his sword.

Alex just cursed his luck. The only advantage he seemed to have against the two of them was their complete lack of team work. But part of him was saying that it was just an act to try and lower his defenses. One on one, Alex was positive that he would be able to put up a fight. But two against one seemed like a completely different story. If he wanted to win this, he would have to be very careful.

Alex quickly glanced at the hole. It hadn't changed it's position, or shape since he had gotten out of it. He honestly expected that the hole would change spots, so that himself, Wolf, and Link were all in it. But it looked like Number 7 wasn't doing it for some reason.

Alex just stood in-between the two Smashers. "Listen, I don't want to fight you two." he sighed.

"Unfortunately, that's too bad." Wolf said.

Alex looked at his hands. There were 2 small rocks, about the size of a quarter that he had grabbed when he climbed up the wall of the hole. He was actually hoping to use them to bring Link out, but now that was unnecessary.

"We don't have to fight." Alex said.

"Sorry, but we received orders from Master Hand to make sure you are knocked out of the Chosen Champions." Wolf said. "If you want to end this without fighting, just hand over your 3DS."

"Sorry, but I won't be doing that." Alex replied. "Well, let's begin."

He threw the two rocks. One at both of the Smashers. The past few moments he had been putting Aura into those rocks. Link was able to block with his shield. Wolf on the other hand was hit by it. Upon contact the rocks also exploded with a great force that sent the two of them backwards a few feet.

"No way." Link said shocked.

"What the hell was that?" Wolf growled.

"My declaration of war!" Alex shouted, rushing up to Wolf and delivering a strong round house kick. Wolf fell into the pit, and was in a rather dazed state.

Link quickly drew his sword and rushed for Alex. Alex quickly summoned his sword and held it in front of him self. Link was the first to react. He rushed for Alex and just swung his sword down. Alex just blocked with his sword, but in an instant he knew that Link was much more skilled with the sword, and used to fighting humans. Link had quickly overpowered Alex and forced his sword down to the ground.

Alex quickly backed away to try and dodge Link's slashes. He didn't know why but it felt like he was facing a much bigger monster than him. The feeling was exactly the same as that. Fear becoming excitement. That even though he could be stricken down at any moment, the thought of bringing down such a strong opponent was numbing.

He soon found his back against a tree, he could no longer back away. The thoughts of being able to fight Link and win didn't seem insane. He didn't feel like some cornered animal awaiting his execution. No, he for the first time in a long while felt alive. He knew that he lived to fight. He lived for moments like these.

Across Alex's face was an unsettling smile. Link froze, watching over him and hesitating to dealing the final blow. "We just need to destroy your 3DS. Just give it to us."

Alex just laughed. "Sorry, you're not getting it."

He just rushed right for Link, taking advantage of the few seconds that he was off guard. He sent a pulse of aura through Link's body. Not enough to actually severely hurt someone, but enough to temporarily disable them. Link just began to stagger around, like he was drunk. Alex quickly knocked Link into that pit.

Alex then faced the chosen champion. "Look, I'm really tired, I don't want to do this, can we book this again for some other day?"

"No." Number 7 said.

Alex just sighed. "Do you want to work together, surely you must of realized that this isn't going to be a job suitable for a single person."

"No, and don't call me Shirley." Number 7 said.

"Fine, looks like we have to do this the hard way! I'll just destroy your 3DS." Alex said, he rushed towards Number 7, however a chain suddenly grabbed his ankle and he was pulled back into the pit. Standing at the end of the chain was Wolf and Link. Quickly Alex broke through the clawshot and just tried to keep his distance, however, suddenly he was trapped in a mound of dirt. He couldn't move his body.

"Why don't you just watch your friend's final moments and despair!" Number 7 laughed.

A projection just appeared on the flat wall of the hole, and showed Noah, Saki, and Isaac. Alex however was relieved, although he was also a bit confused. "How did you do that?" Alex asked.

Number 7 just stared blankly. "Did you not read the manual?"

Alex just sighed. "It's on my to do list."

Suddenly a flying head with a helmet that had a propeller on top came flying around Alex. "It's a head from Faceraiders."

"Yes." Number 7 said. "These can act as scouts, and record and project live video footage."

"That's good, they're still safe." He managed to say. "They're also all together. That's good." He suddenly let out a burst of aura which cracked the ground. "They're still fighting. So I should as well!" He broke free of the prison. And rushed for Link, and Wolf.

* * *

Noah had run out of the house, and was now somewhere within the forest. He had collapsed against a tree and was gasping for air. He was hoping to go and find the cave, and hide in there with Lucas, no one would ever find him there. He'd just have to last 12 days until everything was over. That was doable...

He began to force himself up, however someone walked up in front of him, and pulled out a concealed knife. "Sorry, but you're going to have to die now." He said.

The person swung the knife, and Noah just quickly dodged it. However he lost his footing and fell down a hill and began to roll. The person began to follow, taking his time on the steep hill. Noah on the other hand began to crawl away and hide. When the person got to the bottom he looked for Noah. But through all the bushes and darkness, it was proving to be difficult.

The person pulled out a 3DS, along with a pack of 3DS cards. "Stupid kid, you think the darkness will protect you." A card began to glow and his eyes were suddenly covered by glasses that appeared out of nowhere. "Found you." He said, staring straight at Noah.

Noah quickly got up and tried to bolt away from the assailant. However he soon found that from rolling down the hill he was much more injured than he thought, and had fallen on the ground. He began to crawl away. However the assailant stepped on him, forcing him down to the ground. "And just like that it's over." He laughed. "A worthless chosen champion... When we're done tonight, there will only be 10 remaining..."

Noah struggled to reach for anything that could be a weapon. His hands soon got a stick. He just got it and tried to swing it at the person stepping on him. However the person kicked his arm, causing Noah to scream out in pain.

"Someone please help..." Noah said.

"You're calling for help now? After you left the one person who was willing to be your ally?" the assailant laughed. "Why would anyone want to help you? You're worthless!"

Noah just froze.

However, the assailant was suddenly knocked off of Noah by a giant fist. Quickly rushing up to him was Isaac and Saki. Isaac just helped Noah get back up while Saki stood guard. Noah just looked shocked at them. "What?"

"Why are you protecting him?" The person laughed. "He's useless. You're not even the Smashers tasked to be with him."

"So what?" Saki asked. "We came into this world to protect people from the monsters crossing over. What difference does it make if we protect them from the monsters that are here too?"

"You should learn your place!" He said. "Noah, you are going to give me your 3DS so I can break it, and gain your power! Only in death will you actually be worth anything."

Noah just glared at the person. "No!" he shouted.

"Oh, it looks like you grew a pair. Good. This just would of been boring if you just gave up. Good, let's fight."

**Saki, Isaac, and Noah VS Chosen Champion Candidate number 3 (Name unknown)**

"So, you three really think that you stand a chance against me. I don't even need to bring out the two Smashers I was given to deal with you."

"That's bold words." Saki said.

"Well then, we'll see if I'm speaking true, or if I'm just bluffing..."

Saki just pulled out his cannon sword and shot at the person, however it suddenly froze in mid air, and then disappeared.

"What the?" Isaac said surprised.

Suddenly another laser rushed for Saki. He quickly jumped out of the way, but while he was in the air another rushed for him. He swung his cannon sword to deflect it.

"Out of all of the abilities I'd have to say mine is the strongest." He laughed.

Saki just looked rather frustrated. "What is it!?"

"You think I'd be stupid enough to actually tell you what my ability is?" He said rather annoyed.

"How do you know that your ability is the strongest?" Isaac wondered. "Mr. AR never told us anyones ability."

"You should know, it's not how powerful an ability is, it's how you use it." Number 3 laughed. "An ability like his is worthless if you can't control it!"

Isaac's suddenly looked at him in shock. "Hey, Saki."

"What?" Saki said rather annoyed.

"You had some fun all ready today, it's my turn." Isaac said. "You look after the kid."

"Fine." Saki said.

Isaac walked forwards and the two just high-fived as they passed. "Sorry if you wanted to fight Saki." Isaac said.

"I don't even care about you two, you aren't even Smashers." Number 3 laughed. "And besides, if you're just going to be chivalrous and fight me one on one and not take advantage of your greater numbers, you're idiots!"

Isaac just raised his hand and a stone spire shot out of the ground and just narrowly missed Number 3's neck. "I could have easily killed you while your attention was on Saki." Isaac said. "Now, what's your name?"

"Scott." Number 3 replied.

Isaac just smiled. "Good, Scott. Let's get this over with. I'll teach you not to underestimate us just because we're not full fledged Smashers!" Isaac was suddenly covered in a golden aura. He raised up his hand and shot several psynergy hands towards Scott. However once again they froze and disappeared.

It was hard to tell that in front of him was his 3DS open, the only indication was a small pink light. Suddenly the psynergy hands rushed right for Isaac, they just were canceled before they even had the chance to touch him.

"Let me explain how your attack works." Isaac said, drawing his sword. "First, you need us to attack, then you take a picture. You can use that picture to attack us."

"Well then, in that case. I'd say it's pretty weak, since it would only work on energy attacks!" Saki laughed.

Scott just laughed. "I'm surprised you figured that much out yourself. You're not as stupid as you look." Saki just fired several shots at the person. However Scott dodged each and every attack. He just looked at the three of them rather bored. "On the other hand, it seems to me like Chosen Champion #13, and Zoroark did all of the actual work."

Saki just glanced at Isaac. "Hey, this guy is really beginning to piss me off." He said. "I'm going to rip him a new one."

"Oh?" Isaac said. "I guess that means you'll want me to stay back. Whatever happened to this being my fight?"

"Fine." Saki said. "You take care of him, but you get one chance."

Isaac just chuckled. "Fine boss."

Isaac began to walk towards the person. Suddenly he disappeared and reappeared in front of Scott and delivered a punch that sent him flying, deep into the woods.

"If he survived that and comes back, you can have him." Isaac sighed. "He's not worth the energy."

"Then again, he's only human, he won't be able to last all that long against us." Saki sighed.

However, much to their surprise, Scott walked out of the forest mostly unharmed. He pulled out his 3DS. "I guess failures like you don't know, but Master Hand told us that the 3DS emits a barrier that protects us a bit." He laughed.

"Now that I know that, I'll just make sure to hit you harder than Isaac did." Saki said.

This time Saki disappeared and reappeared in front of Scott. However, this time however the attack was blocked by someone else. Standing between Scott and Saki was a Smasher that Scott had summoned. This one was Wario. "Sorry, Saki, but I can't let you hurt him."

Saki was rather surprised that Wario was able to stop his punch with just his hand. "Sorry, but I'm also following orders too." Saki replied. He kicked Wario with all of his strength and sent the fat man flying right into a tree. Saki immediately rushed for Scott who was now rushing for the unguarded Noah.

"Your fight is with me!" Saki shouted. He appeared in front of Number 3 and slashed at him with his cannon sword. However appearing in front of him was his second Smasher, Ike. Ike was able to block the attack with his own sword.

"Oh damn it." Saki muttered. "Right the brute force twins were in fact teamed up. Wario I could understand, but you, you're okay with this?"

"Just following orders." Ike replied, in a tone that said quite clearly that he wasn't too pleased with it.

Saki just jumped back, he couldn't exactly see the logic with Ike and Wario being paired up. They were both incredibly strong and that didn't seem particularly balanced to him. Isaac and Noah had rushed to his side.

"Listen, one of us has to protect Noah no matter what, the other one has to fight three to one." Isaac said.

"I'll fight." Saki said. "As strong as you are, his ability will put you at a giant disadvantage. You'll be reduced to physical attacks, so I'm probably better suited for this."

Isaac just nodded. "But the next fight will be mine."

"Yeah, fine, whatever. Just protect Noah, I'm not entirely sure if I'll be able to tell the difference between you two and them when I start." Saki said.

"Don't worry." Isaac said

"Listen, all three of you, your fight is with me and me alone." Saki said. "Leave Isaac and Noah out of this until I'm down and out."

Isaac just sighed. "Here, let's do it like this." He said as he took out his sword and drew a rather large circle around them. "If any of you cross this line, I won't hesitate on summoning something to kill all of you at once." A barrier suddenly appeared around them. "I've also put up this barrier."

"Fine, I'll play by those rules." Scott laughed. "But once Saki is dead, I'll be sure to go after you next."

Saki held out his cannon sword. Ike suddenly rushed towards him and swung his rangnell with all of his strength. The attack actually was enough to cause Saki to flinch. Suddenly Wario came rushing up, and tackled Saki sending him flying backwards. Scott followed up with summoning a laser once again to attack Saki. This time it went right through him. Saki landed on the ground and just cried out in pain.

"He can reuse pictures?" Saki muttered. "Crap... should have seen that one coming..."

"I guess it's over." Scott sighed. "Oh well there really isn't all that much you could do."

Saki just got up, his hand was over where the laser had gone through. He just rushed for Scott with a great amount of ferocity. Ike quickly jumped in front, and swung his sword. The two swords clashed, and suddenly repelled each other, sending a shock wave of energy through the air. Isaac was just getting rather nervous. "This is bad."

Noah looked up at his protector. "Why?" He asked.

"Saki is going to lose control a lot sooner than he initially thought." Isaac said. "If he enters that state, not only will we be in trouble, but also the entire city."

"I heard that." Saki said. "I'm not going to lose control. Not against this guy at least."

Scott just looked annoyed. Suddenly several darts went right into Saki. He let out some screams of pain, and Ike rushed forwards slashing him on his chest. Ike quickly jumped back, and looked up at Scott.

"He's dead, go destroy Noah's 3DS now." Scott ordered.

Isaac just stood firmly in place as Ike walked towards the barrier. "He's still alive." Isaac said.

Ike immediately froze and turned to see Saki right behind him and slashing with his cannon sword. Ike was able to block it with his sword, but he was pushed back. "Where is he getting this strength from?" Scott asked.

"He's a Smasher just like us." Wario said. "He won't go down with out a fight."

"And what about you? Why aren't you attacking him?" Scott asked.

"I'm just waiting for my moment." Wario laughed. "After all, I'm almost the worst fit for Saki. I just need to know when that moment is. So, can you keep sending those darts at him?"

Saki and Ike just continued to swing their swords. They were constantly clashing against each other. Both of them were going all out to try and push each other. Scott sent the darts at Saki. The first few he was hit by, and he didn't even bother taking them out. There was a few that he managed to deflect. And a few that he avoided.

"Isaac!" Noah said. "Aren't you going to help Saki?"

Isaac just looked forwards. "He told me to just watch you." Isaac said. "I'll continue to watch him fight alone."

"But at this rate he's going to die!" Noah said.

"That's what he wants." Isaac replied.

"What? Why?" Noah asked afraid.

"Saki has a power that only comes out if he's going to die." Isaac replied.

The darts kept on hitting Saki's back, and he was beginning to look more and more like a pin cushion. Scott was just glaring at Wario. "What are you waiting for you lazy ass?!"

Wario just sighed, as he scratched his butt. "Hey, don't tell me you haven't noticed it?"

"Noticed what?"

"That Ike is fighting with all of his strength, and has lost sight too of what is friend or foe. He's just going all out on Saki with no concern with what's in between." Wario explained. "Both of them are berserkers. If I go out there right now, they'd both tear me apart by complete accident. But don't worry, I'm pretty much ready to strike when the time comes."

Saki and Ike had both stopped swinging their swords. They were both staring at each other and panting heavily. Saki's clothes had been stained with blood.

Getting fed up with waiting, Scott summoned three more darts. Saki just pulled out three darts from his back and quickly threw them, hitting the darts in the air and causing them to fall to the ground.

"I guess it's my turn." Wario laughed. "You might want to back up."

Number 3 looked at Wario rather confused. And then Wario turned around so that his butt was facing Saki. And then he let out a massive wave of gas. Scott quickly jumped away and tried to get some fresh air. Ike quickly covered his face with his cape. Saki on the other hand had his senses increase several times. When he smelt the gas he was instantly paralyzed.

"You're disgusting!" Scott said.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Wario just laughed. "After all, it worked didn't it?"

Saki had fainted standing up. The gas however didn't even enter Isaac's barrier.

"Unfortunately for Saki his advanced senses that he gains when he goes all out worked against him." Wario laughed. There was suddenly a gust of wind, and then Saki was doused with water. He looked around confused.

"What happened?" He asked.

"You fainted standing up." Isaac replied. "I did all I could so, you're going to have to continue the fight."

Saki just nodded.

"And don't fall for Wario's attack again, it's just embarrassing." Isaac said.

"Yeah, yeah." Saki sighed. He held out his cannon sword and just looked at the three. "Although, unless he has been eating a lot of beans, I doubt he can do another Wario waft tonight. Also, with three against one, I'm transforming."

Isaac hardly looked shocked. "Okay then. Just don't go too deep."

Saki nodded.

* * *

Zoroark was jumping from roof to roof hoping to find Noah, however he came to a stop when up in the sky something appeared. A portal between the two worlds had appeared, and a monster had fallen out. It landed in the forest with a rather large bang. Zoroark just looked at the smoke cloud rather frustrated. "Sorry, Master, but I'm going to fight that thing." he said to no one in particular, quickly jumping from the houses to some tree branches.

His eyes weren't focused on the monster that just came through, but rather an unfortunate civilian that was there and now was the first thing that the monster had seen. It was a young boy, probably around 12 or 13. He was wearing a dark hoodie. His pants were Jean shorts. He had blonde hair that was currently a mess, and partly down covering his face. He was also holding a stick in front of him to defend himself.

Zoroark's eyes focused on the monster. It just looked like a big lizard with large frills on it's face, and a long barbed tail

**Zoroark and Mysterious Youth VS Great Jaggi**

It was clearly frustrated with being taken away from it's home. Zoroark, still disguised as a human just jumped down in front of the kid. "I'll protect you." He said.

"You don't know what you're dealing with." The boy said.

"I think I could say the same to you!" Zoroark replied. The Great Jaggi swung it's tail at them and they both jumped up to avoid it. Zoroark didn't actually pay any attention to the boy, so he couldn't see that he jumped as high as him.

Zoroark landed on the ground first, he quickly rushed for the Great Jaggi, and used his claws to slash at it, however the Great Jaggi's skin was much tougher than he thought. He quickly jumped back to avoid the Great Jaggi tackling with it's side.

Zoroark cracked a smile. He was going to enjoy this. He lunged for the Great Jaggi once again. The Great Jaggi let out a roar to try and intimidate Zoroark, however, Zoroark just rushed past him with his hand glowing. He used Night Slash on the Great Jaggi.

The rounds of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate had come in hand, it's pattern had barely changed from that game.

However after several more night slashes, Zoroark had quickly realized that his claws were doing next to nothing against the Great Jaggi. He thought about using his illusions to try and scare it away, however he was too afraid of it rampaging at some houses.

"I need a sword or something." Zoroark thought.

He didn't know how to handle this thing. The Great Jaggi rushed for him, and he moved out of the way so that it ran into a tree. The tree was quickly uprooted and fell to the ground. Off in the distance, Zoroark saw a cliff. An idea then struck him.

He rushed for the Great Jaggi and jumped up to it's head. He began to rapidly attack it's face and frills with his claws. This actually seemed to do a bit of damage, as his claws ripped through the frills. He then landed on the ground. The Great Jaggi was enraged and glaring at Zoroark. Zoroark quickly weaved through some trees and the Great Jaggi followed, just smashing through each tree. It was quite clear that the trees were actually damaging it a bit.

Zoroark then reached the cliff. He jumped up, grabbed a tree branch and watched as the Great Jaggi fell down the cliff. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't so much a cliff as it was just a very steep hill, with just a 1 meter drop at the very beginning.

Still the Great Jaggi ran off of the edge, landed, lost it's balance and rolled down the hill, hitting several jagged rocks and some trees in the process.

When it stopped rolling, it was clear that everything had taken it's toll. It was struggling to get back up.

The kid just rushed to the edge of the hill and looked down.

"That was amazing!" He said.

Zoroark jumped off of the overhanging tree and beside him. "It's not much." Zoroark replied. "Just came with knowing the area, and seeing that it wouldn't be able to react to that first drop fast enough. Now we have to finish this thing off. But my claws aren't strong enough..."

The youth just looked at Zoroark. "I'm sure that it's weakened enough so that you can use your claws."

The Great Jaggi let out a rather weak roar. Zoroark just nodded. "Okay then." he began to rush towards the Great Jaggi.

With Zoroark's back turned the youth raised his hand and began to glow with a strange light. "PK Offense Up." he said.

Zoroark didn't notice that he was now glowing with a faint red aura. He rushed for the Great Jaggi and using Night Slash, his claws cut through the scales and finished off the Great Jaggi.

The Great Jaggi's body disappeared and Zoroark quickly went to the near by river to was the blood off of his hands. When he was done he got back up to the top of the hill. The mysterious youth had vanished.

Zoroark quickly found his scent and began to chase him. It didn't take long for him to find the boy. He just quickly cut him off. The boy looked surprised, and just began to back away.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Zoroark said. "Who are you?"

"My name is Lucas." the boy said. "And I'm a Smasher."

Zoroark jumped back, readying himself for a fight. "And who are you serving under?" He asked.

"No one!" Lucas replied. "I hate fighting! I ran away from the Smashers to get away from this! But... Look a lot has happened, I was going to protect a friend I made named Noah... But then his house burned down, and he disappeared."

"Wait, you know Noah?!" Zoroark said.

"Yeah!" Lucas replied. "Now who are you?"

"My name is Zoroark, I'm a Pokemon that lives in this world." He replied. "Now, then-" However any further discussions were halted, as there was a sudden loud roaring.

Lucas looked rather afraid. Zoroark quickly spread an illusion so that if there were any further roars, they would at least be muffled.

"Looks like there is another monster." Zoroark said. "Look, if you don't want to fight at least come with me, that way I can protect you."

Lucas just nodded. "Okay."

The two of them began to run towards the source of loud roar. The creature soon let off several more.

It wasn't long until they rushed into the battle zone. The two of them could only stare in shock at the transformed Saki, he was currently in his ruffian form, covered in scales, and about 10 feet tall. Then they saw Ike and Wario. Behind Saki, Isaac was still behind his barrier with Noah.

"What's going on?" Zoroark said.

The sound unfortunately drew Saki's attention he suddenly rushed for Zoroark and Lucas. The two jumped out of the way.

"Get over here into the barrier!" Isaac shouted.

They both just nodded and dashed for the barrier. Saki tried to follow them, however Ike intercepted him and attacked. "Sorry." Ike said. "But, your fighting us, and we're not letting you hurt those civilians."

In the barrier, Lucas just stared in shock at Noah.

"Lucas!" Noah cried out, just wrapping his arms around him and hugging him. "Your okay. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Lucas was a bit shocked, but decided the best course of action was to just return the hug. "What are you sorry about?" Lucas asked.

"That now you got dragged into this." Noah cried. "We may all die here... This is all my fault... If I didn't burn down my house, if I didn't run away from Alex."

Lucas patted his friend's back. "Just let out, just let it all out." Lucas said.

Zoroark just looked at Isaac. "What's going on with Saki? Why has he transformed?"

"One of us had to protect Noah, while the other had to fend off the other three and try and defeat them." Isaac replied. "Due to the chosen champion's ability, of being able to capture and use any energy attack used against him, and then reflect it, Saki decided he was the best bet. But it seemed that his ability also carried over to some physical objects such as darts. Darts that had been coated with a poison. Saki was beginning to get weak from the darts, and transformed in a last ditch effort to win. Unfortunately due to the poison taking a toll, he lost sight of who he was. He has currently lost the ability to tell friend from foe. This barrier is the only thing that is protecting us, and it will only allow who I want in."

Lucas was just patting Noah on the back, trying to comfort him. He just looked out at Saki, Wario and Ike fighting. There was a third person who was clearly afraid, and constantly sending various items towards Saki somehow. But now they just bounced off the Ruffian's thick skin, doing nothing.

"What about them?" Zoroark asked.

"They are currently our enemies. And once they have taken care of Saki, well if they can take care of Saki, then they will come after us to try and eliminate Noah from the game. And then after that, they are going after Alex if he's still in the game."

"Master won't fail." Zoroark said. "He can handle all of them!"

"I hope so." Isaac said. "I wanted to go and help him, but now I'm hoping he finishes, and comes and rescues us. Because, this is getting more hopeless by the minute."

"If only I had my Smashers." Noah cried. "If only I received them, then you guys wouldn't have to defend me and you could go help Alex..."

Lucas just looked shocked at Noah. "Wait, he still hasn't received his Smashers?"

Isaac just turned to Lucas in shock. For the first time he actually looked at the person who Zoroark had brought into the barrier. "Lucas?!" He said surprised.

Lucas just nervously laughed. "The one and only."

"So you were the stowaway..."

Lucas just nervously nodded. "Yeah..."

Noah was just looking confused at Isaac and Lucas. "What's going on?" Noah asked through tears.

Lucas just nervously laughed. "Um, well, I told you I ran away. That was true, you see... I'm a Smasher. I ran away from them because of the crisis that was happening and I was afraid."

Noah just suddenly backed up, afraid, away from Lucas, or as well as he could in the confines of the barrier. Lucas was confused.

"I'm not sure how much you've heard or pieced together Lucas." Isaac said. "But..."

"I know about the survival game, Noah told me himself." Lucas replied. "He told me that the Smashers and those they were teamed up with would be hunting each other down. How this apparently came from Master Hand. But, I also told him Noah that I would protect him. I don't know which two Smashers you were supposed to get... but, I can substitute that role and help you." Lucas just stretched out his hand. "Okay?"

Noah stretched out his hand, and the two shook. There was suddenly a glow, coming from Noah's pocket. His 3DS floated up, and revealed a stat page for Lucas. "I suggest you start cramming and trying to learn his abilities." Isaac said. I don't think the barrier is going to last much longer.

Noah just began to nod.

"It seems like Lucas has mostly supporting abilities."

Lucas just nodded. "And what do you have?"

Noah just looked down. "I set things on fire, I can't control the fire though." He said.

Lucas just nodded. "Okay, I think I can help you with that."

"Do either of you have a plan?" Isaac asked.

"We need to get rid of Scott..." Noah said. "Unfortunately, he ran away a long time ago..."

"He probably went to find Master, and try to eliminate him." Zoroark said. "Isaac, do you have a plan?"

Isaac just shook his head. "Sorry, I've got nothing."

"I have a small idea..." Noah said. "I have no idea if it will actually work, but..."

"We don't have anything else to go on, let's hear it." Isaac said.

Noah just pointed at Ike and Wario. Outside, Saki, Wario, and Ike were fighting at full strength. Saki was constantly blasting attacks towards them, there were a select few that would hit the barrier. Wario rushed for Saki and began to shoulder bash him. Such an attack did nothing against the thick ruffian skin. Saki just swung his arm to slash Wario who jumped away with a surprising amount of grace for someone his size.

"What about them?" Lucas asked.

"I was reading through the rules of this fight." Noah said. "And it mentioned something about a trophy state. It's like being knocked out. In the trophy state, they can be revived by touching the base of the trophy. If someone who wasn't their chosen champion revives them from this state, they get a temporary ownership of them."

"But you realize, when they enter the trophy state, Saki will turn his attention to us." Isaac said. They all just nodded. "Okay, what's your plan?"

"If we revive them, and we don't have to worry about them fighting against us, all of us can focus on beating Saki, and then, when that's over we can find Scott..." Noah said.

"Not much of a plan..." They were suddenly cut off by Ike and Wario crying out in pain. The two of them had transformed into trophies and Saki let out a roar of victory. His eyes then turned to face the group in the barrier. "But it's not like we have much of a choice now... Zoroark and I will fight Saki while you revive them."

Saki began to shoot towards the barrier. The energy blasts hit, and it quickly became apparent that the barrier was on it's last legs. "PK Offense Up Omega!" Lucas said. "PK Defense Up Omega!" They suddenly began to glow with some different auras.

Isaac just drew his sword and ran towards Saki, Zoroark followed suit. They began to clash, and while Saki was distracted, Noah and Lucas ran for the trophies of Ike and Wario. When they got there, Noah quickly touched their bases. Almost instantly there was a golden bright light, and the two of them were brought back. They just stared in shock at Noah.

"Why did you revive us?" Ike asked.

"Because, I need your help." Noah replied. "We need to stop Saki."

"You're not our Chosen Champion." Wario said.

"I am now." Noah replied. "Your Chosen Champion abandoned you!"

Wario just glared at Noah, however Ike drew his sword and put it in front of Wario. "Fine." Wario said. "What's the plan?"

Noah was suddenly silent. "I don't know, I didn't plan this far ahead..." Noah nervously laughed.

"In that case, I have an idea." Lucas said. He was rather afraid. "Unfortunately, this means that I'll be defenseless."

For the first time Ike and Wario seemed to recognize who the blonde kid with Noah actually was. "Lucas?!" Ike said shocked.

Lucas just nervously laughed. "Yeah... heh..."

"What are you doing here?" Ike asked.

"It's a long story, we don't have time." Lucas replied.

"What's this plan?" Noah asked.

"If I can use my psychic abilities to try and communicate and get Saki back." Lucas said. "This just means that I'll be a sitting duck. And then he might try to attack me."

"Okay, we'll defend you as best as we can." Ike said.

Lucas just nodded. "I'm going to begin then." He didn't wait to see if anyone else was ready. He just focused his eyes on Saki and then he fell limp. Noah just caught the kid. It was now like he was sleeping. Lucas had projected his mind out and went right to Saki.

Ike and Wario just rushed for Saki and began to attack. Noah on the other hand stayed constantly on the look out, both for Saki aiming at them, and if Scott had returned and was ready to do a sneak attack from the shadows.

Ike had gotten beside Isaac, and helped force back Saki's monstrous hand. "Thanks." Isaac said.

"Looks like Lucas is trying something." Ike said. Isaac just nodded. "Unfortunately, I don't know about Wario, but I'm not feeling like I'm in the best shape."

Isaac just nodded. He jumped back. "Ragnarok!" He shouted, as a sword beam came out of his sword. It hit Saki and exploded, causing the beast to stagger backwards.

Saki suddenly began glow. Isaac just looked on in horror. "Oh no!" He said.

"What now?" Ike asked.

"He's charging energy..." Isaac replied. "This is bad."

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Wario asked.

"Well, I was hoping that I would save this power for later." Isaac sighed. "Unfortunately, it looks like desperate times call for desperate measures. Everyone stand back."

Four Venus Djinn were floating around Isaac. "Judgment!" He shouted. Suddenly his body was covered in armor. A sword in his left hand, a lion's head in his right, there were horns on his head, and wings on his back. Normally, Isaac just summoned the monster, however, during his training as a Smasher, he actually learned how to fuse and temporarily become one with his summon.

"This was why I was teamed up with Saki." Isaac said. "In case he went berserk, I could stop him."

Isaac rushed forwards, hit Saki, and then they flew up into the sky. He placed the lion's head on Saki's stomach and then a giant blast of energy came out. Zoroark just looked on in horror. "Well so much for trying to keep the battle low key." Zoroark sighed.

Saki plummeted down towards the ground, however Isaac had quickly intercepted him and smashed him with his sword, sending him up into the air.

Isaac just had his sword held up into the air and Saki fell onto it. They all looked horrified. However, Saki began to move and pull himself off of the sword. Isaac responded by swinging his sword, and Saki went flying right through several trees. Saki began to get up, and looked up at the sky where Isaac was. From Saki's mouth a beam of energy shot out towards Isaac, he quickly held the lion's head in front of him to act as a shield. The beam hit, but did next to nothing.

Isaac flew down to the ground and quickly slashed at Saki several times. Saki began to let out cries of pain. Isaac however reverted back to his normal form. He just looked rather frustrated. "Crap, I didn't finish it off."

"Well, you weren't trying to kill him, just stop his attacks, and subdue him." Ike said rushing up to him. "Which is considerably much harder to do."

Isaac just nodded. He looked up at Saki, the wounds that he had given him were all ready healed. "I hate this form." Isaac muttered.

"Can't you transform again?" Wario asked.

"Between that and the barrier, I'm practically out of energy." Isaac sighed.

Wario just laughed. "This is why you never send an assist trophy to do a Smashers job." He said as he pulled out a bulb of garlic. He just ate it whole, and suddenly there was a bright light. When it was over, Wario was suddenly in a one piece pink tights with a blue W on his chest. Across it were various bulbs of garlic with smiling faces. He had a cowl covering the top of his head, and a cape.

"Stouter than an iron burrito... Studlier than a snow tire... I am... Wario-Man!" Wario shouted. He rushed for Saki and just began to rapidly punch and attack him. But for the giant Ruffian, he just picked Wario up by the cape and smacked him away. Wario however let off a Wario Waft that sent him flying back towards Saki. He delivered a devastating punch that sent Saki down to the ground.

"WHAHAHA!" Wario laughed. "Let's see you stand up after that!"

Saki just teleported back up, and kicked Wario, he went crashing through several trees, and then eventually fell down onto the ground struggling to get back up. Unfortunately for Wario, his Wario-Man transformation had ended.

Ike rushed for Saki however he was also swatted away.

Noah just looked at Lucas, and then at everyone else. They were all exhausted. Zoroark who had been avoiding combat had now jumped towards Saki, and began to use night slash, attacking the ruffian. But Saki just did one quick attack and Zoroark went flying into the tree that was right beside Noah. "Sorry." Zoroark said. "But I can't do any more. I'm trying to maintain the illusion, so no one can hear the fight..."

Noah just nodded. He pulled out his 3DS and then ran towards Saki. "Hey!" Noah shouted.

Saki just looked at him. Quickly, Noah began to summon fire on various places on Saki, however it did next to nothing. The ruffian wasn't catching on fire.

Saki reached down for Noah, however suddenly a water shuriken hit Saki's hand. The attack got Saki's attention and he faced Greninja who was standing on a tree.

"Greninja?" Isaac said shocked. "Why is he here?"

"A Greninja?" Noah said confused. He looked up and saw the ninja frog pokemon. "Oh, wow! That's so cool!"

"Don't start getting happy about this." Isaac said. "He could also be an enemy."

Saki swung at the Greninja which just jumped down to the river, and Saki followed.

Isaac however looked rather worried. "What's wrong?" Noah asked.

"If another person comes after us, I don't think I will be able to defend you." Isaac said.

"So, Greninja is a Smasher too?" Noah asked.

"Yeah, and a scary one at that." Isaac admitted. "He obeys Master Hand's every word. If he's here, he might be trying an assassination on Alex."

Noah just looked terrified. "If that happens what's going to happen to me?"

Isaac just shook his head. "If it comes to that, we worry about it then."

Down below at the river, Greninja was constantly sending water surikens towards Saki, and fighting him. Everyone slowly made their way down. Ike had picked up Lucas and was carrying him on his back.

"Greninja..." Wario muttered.

"This is getting worse..." Ike added on.

"What's taking Lucas so long?" Noah asked.

"This might be the first time he's ever done something like this." Ike replied. "It's Ness and Mewtwo who do most of the mind probing."

Greninja was running around Saki, at a speed that the giant ruffian couldn't keep up with. On Greninja's arms were two blades made out of water, he constantly cut at Saki. Soon Saki collapsed, and let out a weak roar.

Greninja just kept his distance, waiting for Saki to make another move.

"Uhhh..." Lucas began to moan.

Ike just quickly took him off of his back, and leaned him against a tree. Lucas began to open up his eyes, and just looked at everyone. "It's over, I think I got through to Saki." Lucas laughed.

Noah just looked over to see Greninja who had charged up another water shurican. Noah however created a ring of fire around Saki, and then made the fire rush towards Greninja. Greninja just jumped away to avoid the attack. "It's over, if you're going to attack him any more, you're going to have to beat us!" Noah shouted.

The Smashers all looked at Noah like he was crazy, after all Greninja most likely could take them all out in their current exhausted state. Greninja however just jumped back and ran away.

"It looks to me like he only wanted to stop Saki." Isaac said rather relieved. "Well, that's good news for us."

"Yeah." Noah sighed. "That was scary..."

"Well, you stood your ground, even without any Smashers beside you. You did a good job." Isaac said. "Now, about him." They looked over at Saki. The fire continued to burn, however Isaac just began to use douse to get rid of it. In the center was Saki who was reverting back to his human form. Just there were currently what appeared to be scales all over his body. Isaac rushed over and helped Saki up.

"I feel like I just drank out an entire bar of it's booze." Saki muttered, struggling to get up.

"I really hope you feel like that, for all the hell you just put us through."

"My head is pounding, it's like I've got the hangover from hell..." Saki muttered.

"Even Greninja was here and fighting you."

"Greninja? I don't remember any of that." Saki muttered. He looked up and saw Ike, Wario, and Lucas standing beside Noah. "I must of missed a lot... Where the hell is that guy? I need to go punch his face in for poisoning those darts."

"You're in no condition to do that." Isaac said.

Noah was looking at the trees that had been cut by the water shuriken and just inspected it. It was such a clean cut. "Whoever has that Smasher must be really strong..."

"I wonder why he didn't keep attacking though." Ike said. "He probably would have won..."

"Maybe he got orders to retreat." Noah said. "Or maybe it was just to stop Saki. Or get Lucas back..."

"But, I'm still here..." Lucas said.

Isaac was helping Saki walk, and get over to them. "We need to find Alex now."

"Scott and Nathen are probably fighting him right now..." Ike said. "Against those two, and then Link and Wolf, he's probably gone by now."

"If we all work together..." Noah began.

"We helped you out here because you revived us, and the situation called that we work together." Wario said.

"Unfortunately, we're all at the end of our ropes, and we can't attack the Chosen Champion we are supposed to protect. All we can do to help you is just let you run off to fight them." Ike added on.

Noah just looked a bit worried.

"I think we can do it." Lucas said.

"You sure?" Noah said. "I mean... between the two humans, and then Link..."

"Link's a big softie." Lucas said. "Besides, listen, you have something that they aren't expecting, something that they can't plan for."

Noah just looked a bit confused. "What?"

"Me!" Lucas replied.

* * *

Alex fell down to the ground, baddy beaten and bruised. Just as he was getting used to fighting three people, a fourth appeared. He was completely overpowered, and beaten.

"So, Scott, you being here means that the others are all gone, right?" the one chosen champion said.

"Unfortunately no." Scott replied. "One of the Smashers that was watching him went berserk, and it was getting too dangerous to be there, I decided to flee, with any luck that Smasher that went berserk killed them all, and the chosen champion."

Alex soon found himself against a wall. The earth seemed to mold itself around his arms and legs making shackles.

"Well, we just got to kill him." Scott said. "And then Master Hand will grant the wish."

Alex just weakly laughed. "So, he's still trying to get rid of me." He scoffed. "Whats this about a wish?"

"It's exactly as it sounds like. Master Hand promised that he would give a wish to anyone who got rid of you." Scott said. "So, where is your 3DS, or are we going to have to do this the hard way?"

Alex just laughed. "I don't have it." He said. "I left it at home."

The two of them were just completely shocked. "He must be bluffing." Scott said.

"No, he must be telling the truth." The other said. "Through out the battle, he never once pulled it out."

"What?" Scott said. "Nathen, are you sure?"

"Positive." Nathen replied.

Alex just laughed. "Nathen eh?"

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing." Alex replied. "Just have a kid half-brother with the same name. Is it spelt with an A N or E N?"

"E N." Nathen replied.

"Ah, he's an A N." Alex just laughed.

"He's just trying to bide time." Scott said. "Besides, we were watching his house, there isn't anyone else there."

"He doesn't live with me, he lives with my father and his mother." Alex said. "Half brother, you know?"

There was suddenly a rustling in the bushes. Everyone froze. "Go check that out, Link!" Nathen said. Link just walked over, he reached down and pulled out a kid in a hoodie. The kid was just squirming, trying his best to break free from the hylian's grip.

"Must be a local kid that lives in some of the houses near here." Wolf said.

"Are you stupid?" Scott said. "It's like 10:30 at night! It's a school night! Any local kid his age, should be asleep right now. Now what are you doing?"

The kid just began to cry. "I was just walking my dog!" He said. "And then I lost him, and I've been looking for him... And then I saw this huge scary monster and... what if my dog is dead..." The kid just cried loudly.

"Just throw him somewhere, he should forget about this in the morning." Scott said frustrated.

Link began to walk away, however the kid just slipped out of the dark hoodie, just revealing his yellow and red striped shirt underneath it. "Lucas?!" Link said shocked, before he was sent flying by PK Love and into a tree, where he was knocked unconscious, and turned into a trophy.

"PK Love Omega!" Lucas shouted. From Lucas a bunch of energy that looked like hexagons shot out and exploded, knocking Wolf, Scott, and Nathen away.

"What's going on?!" Scott said shocked.

Lucas just had a stick hoisted over his shoulder. "I believe this is called a surprise attack." Lucas replied. Fire circled around the three, and from the shadows Noah came out. Lucas and Noah just walked over to Alex who was still hanging on the wall.

Alex just looked at Lucas. "You're the kid from this afternoon." He weakly laughed. "Noah, it was right for me to trust you after all."

"We'll get you out of there." Noah said.

"You will do no such thing!" Nathen replied, the ground began to shift, which put out the flames. Wolf just ran straight for Noah, as though he was a rabid wolf.

Lucas however quickly ran in front of Noah. "PK Freeze!" He said throwing a psychic snowflake at Wolf. Upon contact it exploded, and Wolf was encased in ice. However it wasn't enough to contain him. Wolf quickly broke free, but this time Lucas was able to kick Wolf, and strengthened his kick with some psychic energy that sent Wolf into a tree.

"PK Love Omega!" Lucas shouted, blasting Wolf with the attack. It was far too much for Wolf, and he was turned into a trophy.

Lucas just turned his attention to the two Chosen Champions.

"Well, that worked out better than I thought." Noah laughed.

"This is where the hard part begins." Lucas replied. "Sorry, but to make sure Wolf and Link stayed down I used a lot of my psychic energy, I can't do much more."

"That's fine." Noah said.

"So, the worthless brat actually did have a Smasher." Scott said.

"They shouldn't be able to beat us." Nathen said.

"Your right, maybe we won't be able to, but I wouldn't be so sure about the person behind you." Noah said.

The two of them just laughed. "Oh come on like we're going to fall for that-"

The two of their heads were just Smashed together knocking them unconscious. Standing behind them was a very angry Zoroark.

"Can't say we didn't try to warn them." Lucas said. "At least, that's what I'd think Ness would say right about now..."

Zoroark rushed over to Alex and quickly slashed the shackles. Alex just fell forwards. "Thanks Z. You to Noah, and Lucas. You two were awesome."

"Master, how did you lose?" Zoroark asked, rather disappointed.

Alex just sighed. "I guess I'm still not at full power." He replied. "Sorry, I'm an embarrassing master."

"Now about these." Zoroark said, holding out the two 3DS's.

"I think they made themselves extremely clear." Alex said. "Noah, want to destroy one or both?"

Noah just nodded. He took a nearby rock and just smashed it down on the two systems. He followed it up with burning them both. They just watched as the two chosen champions vanished. Lucas quickly unleashed a small PK Freeze to douse the fire. They watched as Link and Wolf's trophies vanished as well.

**10 Chosen Champions Remain**

"Now what?" Noah asked.

"I don't know about you guys, but I want to go home." Alex replied. "I'm tired, sore, and filthy."

Noah suddenly looked a bit afraid. Lucas just looked nervous.

"Um... about that..." Noah said. "Will you still accept me?"

"Of course." Alex said. "Come on, lets go get some hot chocolate or something." They began to walk up the pathway, however Lucas hadn't budged. "Hey, Lucas, you too."

"But actually my stuff is in a cave." Lucas said. "And well, since we're so close, and I'd rather not go out tomorrow..."

Alex just nodded. "Okay, in that case, lead the way."

They slowly went to the cave. Zoroark was just supporting Alex most of the way, when they got there, Lucas quickly rounded up his stuff.

"Oh wow, this cave!" Alex said surprised.

Noah just looked at Alex a bit confused. "What about it?"

"This brings back memories, doesn't it Z?" Alex laughed.

"I wouldn't remember." Zoroark said.

"What about this cave?" Lucas asked.

"This was the cave where I found Zoroark's egg..." Alex replied. "Ah well, that was a while ago. Let's get back before any others decide to attack."

Slowly they walked back to the trail and made it to the streets, where Saki and Isaac were waiting for them. "Ike and Wario vanished." Saki said. "I take it to mean that you won?"

"Yeah." Noah said.

"You look horrible." Saki said.

"The same can be said to you. Put some damn clothes on." Alex replied.

They slowly walked back to the house. Noah seemed to have a bit of a spring in his step. Saki and Isaac just glanced at Alex. "Did you do anything?"

"Not really." Alex replied. "For the first time in a long while, it seems like he may have a light or something in his life now..."

They eventually got to the house.

"I call the shower first." Alex said.

"Well, considering it looks like you crawled out from under a grave..." Saki laughed.

"Don't start with me, scales." Alex muttered.

He made his way to the washroom, while Zoroark was giving Noah and Lucas the tour.

Alex just started up the water and stripped. Alex just stepped in to the shower and let the hot water rush down him. He placed his hand on the wall to support himself and just closed his eyes. "What the hell was that?" He thought to himself. During that battle against Link, he didn't feel like himself. It was as though something inside of him had been awakened. Something that lived only for battle, only for victory no matter what the costs. To be honest, it scared him. He was positive that if he wasn't alone, he might of even attacked Saki and Isaac if they were in his way.

"No, it's nothing." He eventually decided. "I just got an adrenaline rush or something."

He got out dried off, and then began to sterilize any wounds he had. He cringed and shouted rather loud and colorful words. After that he put on his clothes. He walked down to the basement to see Noah, Saki and Isaac playing more video games. Lucas was asleep on a chair.

"I'm out." He said. "If anyone else needs to use the shower to clean up, now is probably the time."

The Smashers glanced at Alex. They were also covered in dirt, although not as bad as Alex was. Isaac just got up. "I'll go next then." He said.

He probably needed it the least, but he just walked up and within a few minutes they heard the water going through the pipes. Within a few minutes he was out. Saki was next. Then Noah. Then Zoroark, and then finally Lucas.

When all was said and done it was about 11:30 at night. They all just sat around the dinning room table, each with a mug filled with chamomile tea.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that was horrible." Saki said. "What were your thoughts on that battle?"

Alex just looked down at the floor. "Honestly, I agree. It was horrible. I think it was a miracle that we even survived the way we did. Had I even had my 3DS on me, I'm not even sure if I'd be here right now. That was one lucky break that Noah ran out when he did."

Noah just looked surprised. "What?!" He said.

"Yeah, I left my 3DS here and fought with out it." Alex laughed. "They were so fixated on trying to get rid of my 3DS, I don't think the thought ever crossed their mind that I didn't have it because of a complete accident."

"Well, Master Hand did tell us to keep it on our hands at all times." Noah said.

"There was so much wrong with that fight..." Saki said. "I shouldn't have lost control. I put everyone in danger."

"Because I ran out, I put everyone in danger..." Noah said.

"It was pathetic on all ends." Isaac added.

There was just silence. "It's only going to get worse from here on out." Alex eventually said. "But, I think we can improve from this. For right now, let's just recount everything, and then we can go to bed. Tomorrow is another day."

They all nodded. They explained the battle, how Greninja appeared, and a bunch of other stuff. Alex explained his battle. It was about midnight when they all went to bed. Before that though, Lucas had approached Saki and Isaac.

The boy just looked at them both, it was clear he was afraid and nervous. "Um…" He began.

"You snuck aboard our ship." Saki said.

Lucas just nodded. "Yeah…"

"All things considered, we probably should send you back to Master Hand." Isaac said. "However, as it stands, we're not exactly on the best terms with him right now, and Noah is missing the Smashers that were sent to be with him. And, you saved our skin out there today. Listen, defend him with your life."

Lucas just nodded. "I will!" He said.

Alex was just walking around the house, making sure that lights were off and doors were locked. He turned on the dishwasher, and was quickly washing a few dishes in the kitchen. Noah just approached him.

"Um... I have a question..." Noah said.

"Okay."

"With everything that happened, what about school?" Noah asked.

Alex just glanced at the kid. He had vanished, he was all over the news as a missing child. If he just showed up at the school out of nowhere, he would probably be taken by social services. It would be much worse that way...

Yet, when all of this was over he would need to go back to school one way or another. "I wish I had an answer for you." Alex said. "Part of me is going you need to go to school, but all the circumstances is making me say, no… Maybe we'll have one of those dreams again tonight, and we can talk to Master Hand about it, and he'll say something..."

"Also, I have next to nothing. All of my clothes burned to ashes in the fire." Noah said.

Alex just sighed. "I guess I could go buy some clothing then, especially if you're going to stay here. In the meantime, I'll get some clothes for you to wear. But they'll be big on you."

Alex was waiting for a response, however, none came. He just glanced over to see that Noah was crying. "Why are you being so nice to me?" Noah asked.

"It's the least I can do." Alex replied.

"What if I betray you?"

"Then you betray me." Alex replied.

"But what if I stab you in the back!"

"If I live, I'd still let you stay here." Alex said.

"Why?!"

"You have no where else to go, don't you?" Alex said.

Noah just burst into tears. He had lost everything. "Go to bed." Alex said. "It's getting late. I'll wake you up in the morning, and figure out what to do about school and stuff then."

Noah just nodded. "Just before I do... I have one more question."

"Sure."

"Can we register each others friend codes?" He asked.

Alex just smiled. "Sure."

Noah pulled out his 3DS, and Alex quickly dried his hands and pulled out his. They just quickly registered the codes, and like that they were off their separate ways. Alex just made it up to his room, and quickly set the alarm for 6 in the morning. Now it was just a few minutes past midnight. He lied on his bed and tried to fall asleep.

But he couldn't. No matter what he did, he was staying awake. He looked at the clock, it was now 1 in the morning. He glanced at Zoroark, and was rather frustrated that he could instantly fall asleep. Meanwhile, for Alex, it was just going to be another sleepless night.

Eventually he just got up, and walked out to the deck. He looked up at the stars and then he froze. He turned around and looked up at the roof of the house. He just jumped up onto the roof and sat down to look at the stars.

"There's no use hiding." Alex said. "I know you're there."

From behind the chimney emerged Greninja.

Alex just patted the spot beside him. "Sit down, relax." He said. Greninja however just sat down a considerable distance away from him. "I'm not going to hurt you Greninja, especially since you're Noah's Smasher."

"Nin!?" Greninja said shocked.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out." Alex said. "You were always watching from a distance. You were the one that actually lead me to find him in the shed. You doused some of the fire so we could escape from the burning building. The two of you teaming up together would make perfect sense, you being there to douse the fire that he makes. And then there was you coming to protect him and fight Saki today."

"Nin." Greninja said.

"We're working together now, so I can try to protect him."

Greninja just nodded giving off a small grunt.

"That being said, maybe you should appear in front of Noah, and let him know he has another Smasher besides Lucas. We could explain that you're just watching from the shadows and aren't as hands on as the rest of the Smashers, or something else."

Greninja however shook his head.

"I expected you to be a little bit more talkative." Alex sighed. "Well, I guess you have your reasons as to why you don't want Noah to know. Very well then, I'll do my best to protect him."

Greninja just nodded.

"But one day you're going to have to protect him as well."

"Nin." Greninja said.

"Can you actually speak?" Alex wondered. "I mean, all I heard you say so far is 'nin'."

Greninja however just shook his head and then pointed at it's tongue that was wrapped around it like a scarf.

"Guess not." Alex replied. "Was kind of hoping you were a ventriloquist."

The silence just went on for several minutes, only being broken by Alex yawning occasionally.

"I have to say, I was kind of nervous." Alex laughed. "When I heard you were super loyal to Master Hand. I thought you would be an assassin sent to target me directly."

Greninja just looked at Alex in shock. The pokemon looked almost offended. "Nin!"

"But, I'm glad that isn't the case." Alex said. "I don't know why Master Hand has it out for me, I doubt you do either, but I'm going to continue to fight! If the other chosen champions I've encountered so far are any indication, I can't fully trust them. The one that was the murderer, the one that manipulated Noah. The two that we faced today. I don't think they would be capable of saving both our worlds."

Greninja just sat there.

"You must think I talk too much." Alex laughed.

Greninja just nodded. "Nin."

"Just a lot has happened." Alex sighed. He looked up at the stars. "My life's just been turned upside down. I just thought I was waiting on my college and university applications to go through, and then decide on which school I wanted to go to after I got them all back. Maybe find out what I want to do in life. But now... Now, I don't even know if there will be a school to go to, I could wake up, and a monster could destroy the school at any moment. The world could be destroyed before the end or even the beginning of summer. And no one would know the better. I'm looking after some kid now. Master Hand's trying to kill me. My cousin has high hopes that I'll be able to figure out what's wrong, and be able to save everything when even he can't, someone who can freely bend time and space and rewrite reality to his own will. And throughout all of this, I'm supposed to remain strong, and confident. But I'm the opposite. I'm weak. I'm scared. I don't know what to do."

There was just silence.

"Thanks for listening to me." Alex said. "I needed to vent, and there's just no one I really can talk to."

"Nin." Greninja said.

There was more silence.

"Well, I'm going down, and inside." Alex eventually said. "You're free to come in if you want. It's a lot warmer in there than out here. And there's plenty of places to hide, so you won't be found."

"Nin" Grininja said, shaking his head.

"All right, see you later." Alex said, jumping from the roof to the porch.

He went back in, and then closed the door. And slowly made his way up to bed. Suddenly he felt a drowsiness hit over him. He just fell onto the bed, and was instantly asleep.

* * *

They were in the dream scape between dimensions. Master Hand floated in the middle, and Noah was no longer obscured while the others were still covered by something.

"And then there were ten." Number 5 said.

"Number 7, and Number 3 have been eliminated." Number 8 said. "Number 13, was this your doing."

"It was." Alex said. "They attacked me, I just made sure to end the fight."

"One among the remaining 9 of my original Chosen Champions has allied with Number 13." Master Hand said. "I don't expect you to reveal who you are, or your reasons. Still, Number 13, you've taken down 3 of my own chosen champions."

"And I feel like saying that all three times it was in self defense." Alex said glaring at the Hand.

The remaining 8 seemed rather surprised by this. "What?"

"Number 12, was a serial killer." Alex said. "Number 7, and Number 3, formed an alliance to try and bring me down. I'm willing to keep on fighting until either the ones who ally themselves with me are the only ones standing, or I'm eliminated, but I'm not going down without a fight."

"Wait, Number 12 was a serial killer?" Number 5 said. "Isn't that a bit dangerous?"

The other chosen champions were also getting a bit nervous, and scared by this recent news. "I chose people from across all walks of life." Master Hand said. "But, he was the only murderer among you."

That seemed to relieve a bunch of the Chosen Champions. "Still, Master Hand, Number 3 and 7 seemed to know who I was rather quickly." Alex said. "I don't think this is a fair game."

"I'm completely honest, the only person I told anything to was number 12." Master Hand said. "Number 3 and 7 figured out who you were themselves. I imagine from your fight with the person who is now your ally."

Alex just thought about it. As much as he hated to admit it, Master Hand was probably right about that one. He bit his nail and thought about a few other things for a few seconds.

"Master Hand, there is something I would like to talk to you about, with the person I had allied myself with." Alex said.

"And what of it?" Master Hand asked.

"This is kind of a private matter." Alex replied. "If I say anything, it could reveal both of our identities to the outside world."

"Very well then." Master Hand said snapping his fingers. Everyone but himself and Noah had disappeared.

"This is about what has happened in our world with Noah." Alex said. "I know you don't like me, but, he has to go to school. And can't if his head is plastered everywhere as a missing child."

"I see." Master Hand said. "Very well, I can do something. It will be safe for him to go out in public."

"Thank you." Alex said.

And like that the meeting was over. However for Alex, he soon found himself in a room that looked like the cottage. Sitting on a chair was Nugai. "Hey." He said. "Sorry about today, and turning you away."

Alex just looked around a bit surprised.

"I've decided to approach you in your dreams." Nugai said. "Since, well, otherwise, meeting in real life would be far too risky. Going forwards, I don't recommend visiting me again."

"Why?" Alex asked.

"They aren't stupid, they keep a close eye on me, and also a close eye on you, even though Cody is there and watching over you, they suspect that he isn't loyal."

"Okay." Alex said.

"Cody, or Agent Tei, also came by today, just shortly after you left." Nugai said. "Had you two seen each other then, they most likely wouldn't have allowed him to keep watching you, or they might send someone else. Or someone else is all ready in the school and watching..."

"So, I guess I need to watch my back at school in case there is another spy." Alex sighed.

"I also suspect that they may be trying to transfer me to somewhere else." Nugai sighed. "Possibly to my own execution."

Alex just looked up at his cousin rather shocked. "What?!"

"Don't worry, I'll escape before that happens." He replied.

"Of course you will..." Alex laughed. "But now only being able to communicate to you through dreams..."

"Of course, this does have it's drawbacks, sadly it's only a 1 way street, if you want to talk to me about stuff, you're just going to have to hope I contact you through the dream" Nugai laughed. "Very well then. Let's get to the reason why I called you here. Every chosen champion has a power. Noah's is fire, and Nathen's was using the 3DS to alter the terrain. Scotts, was taking a picture to use later. Pop quiz: what do all three of these have in common?"

Alex was a bit caught off guard from the pop quiz. He just thought about it for several moments. "They all use the 3DS." He replied. "It's capabilities. Or rather the 3D tools, and toys. There was that drawing app that you drew with flames. There were the 3D terrain tools. And then I imagine the final ability is really just using the camera, and sharing the photo."

"Exactly." Nugai replied. "All abilities are based upon something from the 3DS. Keep that in mind for your future fights."

Alex just nodded. "Okay, so what's my ability, you did give me one right?"

"The truth is, when I entered you into this game, I didn't give you a power."

"What?!" Alex shouted. "I was practically killed 3 times all ready!"

"I figured, that the others would rely on their power, and that it would give the advantage to you, who had to just rely on your own physical abilities and limitations. It seemed to of worked so far..."

"You've been watching my fights?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. They don't exactly give me a TV or anything here, so daily life is pretty boring. I just have to count stuff, and hope for visitors. Or go out traveling as an astral projection"

"On that note then, you saw Carock and me fighting, right?" Alex asked. "I thought you said you would be patrolling it, and making sure that no monsters came through. And what about the Great Jaggi that Zoroark and Lucas fought."

Nugai just let off a heavy sigh. "The normal passageways I can moderate. But even I'm not perfect with that. There's bound to be one or two that can slip through undetected, or when I'm busy pretending being trapped in an insane asylum. I'm guessing the Great Jaggi was one of those two. As for Carock... Zenith has there own portal, that, while I could go into it to stop monsters or soldiers or whatever they bring to and from over there, I imagine they've installed much better security than the last time I did that. And I don't think they want a repeat of last time."

"What happened last time?" Alex asked.

Nugai just let off a light chuckle. "I entered it, stole something, caused it to blow up, set them back millions of dollars, and several years worth of research. And after all that, I was back in time to play Brawl with you. All and all, that was a good day."

"What all did you steal?" Alex wondered.

"Eh, just some prototype." Nugai replied. "They didn't exactly seem too worried, they didn't chase after me for it, and it kind of broke quickly."

Alex just nodded at the information. "So, I've been wondering, how many visitors are there besides me?"

"Not very many." Nugai sighed. "They mostly seem to come from the Government."

Alex just nodded. "And how are they right now?"

"Why don't you ask Cody?" Nugai said. "They really don't let that much information from the outside world out there. They think the lack of news might drive me insane. But, you know, that kind of failed when you're keeping someone who can just wave his hand and be anywhere in the world. I mostly go out through astral projection, but anyways... Three chosen champions have been defeated, 10 remain. And you've teamed up with Noah. Interesting."

"What does that mean?" Alex asked.

"I didn't see that coming." Nugai replied. "In fact, I thought he was one of the ones that were surely going to be eliminated. But he was definitely the most interesting of Master Hand's choices."

"Most interesting?" Alex said a bit confused.

"Just everything that was happening in his life. How he was unstable." Nugai just sighed. "That and I met him once before..."

"What?" Alex said confused. "How? When? Why?"

"Well, you remember how I explained how I stopped that truck with just a sword, to save The Reaper's life?" Nugai asked.

"Um... well kind of..." Alex said. He remembered it documented in Trapped in the Brawl. The events where he had gained a bit of Dialga's power and used it to go back in time to stop the Reaper from ever going into the other universe to save his life.

"His family was in a car back then." Nugai said. "I wonder what was his reaction... Fear, terror? Did he think that I was cool? His parents on the other hand were absolutely terrified. Everyone was back then. Have I ever told you about when I drive a car?"

"No?" Alex said confused.

"Deep down, I'm terrified." Nugai said. "A car, it's what a few thousand pounds of metal going at 50 KM per hour on city streets. Human life is fragile and can end in an instant. Hit someone like that, and odds are they'll die. A five ton truck equates to well over 10,000 pounds. Going at least 100 kilometers per hour... if I wasn't who I was at that point in time when I jumped in front of it, I was all ready dead... Someone who survived that, appearing out of nowhere, they also must of been terrified as I walked up to the Reaper's car. That boy though, I remember his eyes. While his parent's were terrified. He just was smiling like I was some sort of super hero... Guess I was to him, had I not been there, he might of died too..."

"Why wasn't that in Trapped in the Brawl?" Alex wondered.

"If they used that to persecute me, they might hunt them down..." Nugai said. "I didn't want that, they were just innocent bystanders."

"But what about accident reports."

"Some reality warping was required." Nugai said. "Since the wreckage of the truck was blown up, and nothing remained, traffic just returned to it's normal self. Their memories were also wiped. And it was just thought of some mid day congestion. Ah well. I'm kind of surprised you figured out Greninja was his Smasher."

"It wasn't too hard." Alex admitted.

Nugai just nodded. "Greninja is a strange Pokemon. Or at least that one is."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

"It's loyal, and strong, as you would expect a ninja to be." Nugai replied. "However, it was testing Noah. His loyalty is to Master Hand, and when Master Hand assigned Greninja to Noah, he decided that he would test Noah. 'I will be the only Smasher he will get for the time being.' Greninja said. 'That is my only request.'"

"But why?" Alex asked confused.

"A ninja operates in the shadows." Nugai said. "I guess there is also the law of inverse ninjas."

There was suddenly silence. "The law of inverse ninjas?" Alex asked a bit confused, after a few seconds had passed.

"It was a joke." Nugia laughed. "But, basically, the more ninja's you have the weaker they are. If it's just a single ninja, he or she is an unstoppable force. At least that's how the law is supposed to go, whether or not there is any actual truth to it, or it's just an action movie cliche, you'll find out soon enough."

"Gee, thanks." Alex sighed. "But why would Greninja was test Noah?"

"My guess is Greninja needed to make sure he was worthy of his power." Nugai said. "Only then will it appear in front of him. Well, that was all I wanted to talk about, unless you have something you wanted to ask."

"There was something else, there was another, Zero." Alex said. "Who was that? Is he one of the chosen champions?"

Nugai just let off a heavy sigh. "That I don't know. As of right now I can say probably an enemy. I'll investigate, but keep your guard up."

Alex just nodded.

Nugai just got up and walked over to Alex and began to ruffle his hair. "Also, I heard your little outburst. I'm sorry I put so much weight on ya. One day, I'll be able to help you, and we'll figure this out. You just need to hang in there until then. Okay?"

"Yeah." Alex replied.

"Now then, see ya later." Nugai said. "Your dreams should still be your own, you should at least have some freedom in them."

And with that Alex drifted to sleep, to dream his own dreams.

* * *

Dark Pit, Phosphora, and Magnus had been traveling for several days. To both Phosphora's and Magnus' shock they were still traversing the Overworld. They were currently going through mountains.

"Hey, when are we actually getting into the Underworld?" Magnus eventually asked. "We haven't seen any action, and I'm just getting bored here."

Dark Pit just let off a sigh. "I was actually hoping to find a gate that hadn't been closed from the last battle with Hades, and we could sneak in from there."

"And if we can't find one of those?" Magnus asked.

From his toga, Dark Pit pulled out a purple gem. Inside it appeared to be the underworld army's symbol, what looked like an eye with three lines going down. "We'll use this, to make and close an entranceway." Dark Pit replied.

"Where did you get that!?" Phosphora shouted out shocked.

"I just borrowed this from Palutena." Dark Pit replied.

"First you steal from Viridi, and now Palutena? No Gods are going to come to our rescue, you know that." Phosphora said.

"I said it was a suicide mission." Dark Pit replied.

Magnus however was just looking at the gem confused. "Okay, what is that jewel?"

"It's the Underworld Key." Phosphora replied. "After the war with Hades, Palutena used it to seal all the entrances to the underworld, so that the underworld monsters couldn't leak out. If we bring that into the underworld, and we die, then they get have possession of it, they will freely be able to traverse to and from the underworld."

"Why do you care?" Dark Pit asked. "You're with Viridi, and she hates the humans."

Phosphora just sighed. "True, but, that's the only thing keeping the underworld army fully imprisoned right now. The odd monster gets through, but with that, it will open up the flood gates, and once the Overworld is done Skyworld is next."

"Then if worse comes to worse, we destroy the gem. It will trap us in there, but it's better than having the underworld army have free reign over everything else." Dark Pit said. They made it to the entrance of a cave. Dark Pit just looked inside, and began to go in. "We've reached where we're going to open the portal to the Underworld. Come on." Phosphora and Magnus followed.

They eventually came to a dead end in the cave. Dark Pit just pointed the Underworld Key at the back of the cave and from it energy shot at the wall of the cave. Soon there was a portal to the Underworld in front of them. He just walked through the portal, and the two followed.

They emerged in a dark cave. When Dark Pit confirmed that all three of them had made it, he just closed the portal, and pulled out a small chest from within his toga. He put the jewel in the chest and then it was sealed away.

* * *

**Flashback:**

Dark Pit had gotten the information he wanted from Palutena, the first, where was the human known as Magnus, the second, where was the closest gateway to the underworld that they could use. Reluctantly, Palutena gave him that information. He made his way around her temple, eventually finding what he wanted, a purple gem that was guarded under several powerful spells. Being the clone of Pit, he was able to disable the magic spells that protected it from being taken.

"Pittoo, so you really are planning on fighting Hades yourself." A voice said.

Dark Pit just turned to face Palutena. "Yeah." Dark Pit replied.

"And you think stealing the underworld key is a good idea." Palutena asked.

"Someone has to clean up Pitstain's mess." Dark Pit said. "No matter what, Hades can't be allowed to have his way. We need to end this now, before it becomes something big."

"And just what is your plan, Dark Pit!?" Palutena sternly said, her voice actually containing authority. Dark Pit was actually caught off guard that she didn't use his nickname. "If you bring the underworld key to the Underworld, it will constantly let off a power that will draw in the underworld army." Palutena said. "They will always be able to find you, you will be on the losing side of a war of attrition."

Dark Pit just laughed. "Why are you telling me what I all ready know?"

"If you go in there, I won't be able to help you." Palutena said.

"Yeah, I know." Dark Pit replied.

"Pit will be devastated if anything happens to you." Palutena said.

"You can stop trying to stop me." Dark Pit said. "They will never get their hands on it, even if I have to destroy the Underworld Key and I'm stuck there for the rest of my life. I've made up my mind. I'm stopping Hades!"

Palutena just let off a heavy sigh. "Very well then, if I can't change your mind, then take this." In her hand appeared a golden box. "Keep the Underworld Key in there. It should suppress it's signal, and only you will be able to open it."

Dark Pit just took the box and walked past her. "Thanks."

"Goodbye, Dark Pit." Palutena said. Dark Pit just flinched, it wasn't like her sending off Pit for another mission. This goodbye carried weight, as though she knew that they would probably never see each other again.

* * *

"Now that we're in the Underworld, I don't want to hear any complaining." Dark Pit said, walking forwards. "Let's go try and find Hades and end this."

He began to walk through the cave, Magnus and Phosphora followed.

* * *

Fire, see it burning in his eyes,

Its the flame that never dies,

burning brighter than them all,

Like a fireball

~ Reboot v3.1.3 "Firewall", Intro song "Firewall"

* * *

File 1

Do you want to save?

YES

Party: Alex, Zoroark, Saki, Isaac, Noah, Lucas.

**10 Chosen Champions Remain**

* * *

**Eh... Let's try something a bit different: a trailer/Next chapter/Story arc preview:**

An emergency mission calls together all of the chosen champions:

"What's that?" Noah asked. "The monsters we have to fight?"

"No, that is the world."

Two titans said to have killed each other in combat is the next stage. The war that they waged was continued by their inhabitants. There was a set path, that the war would eventually end, with a hero slaying the mad god that wished for the war, and the world being reborn. But chaos has spread, and a new threat has appeared.

"Please no... I hope this doesn't mean what I think it means..."

"Unfortunately... Yes..."

"This better be a joke!" Master Hand was doing his best to hold back his laughter. He was however failing miserably. "What's so funny, Hand?" Alex said annoyed. He was just glaring at the Hand with such intensity that Master Hand began to shake.

"So, you do have a really embarrassing weakness after all. I mean... Nothing."

Allies and friends are reunited.

"Remember me?"

"You stupid, stupid, idiot! Don't ever run away again..."

And at the same time tensions begin to rise.

"You knew!" Lucas shouted, pounding his fists against Alex. "You knew the whole time and you didn't say anything!"

"You're right, I knew." Alex calmly said.

"I hate you." Lucas said.

"It's my role to be hated." Alex said.

"You changed what was supposed to happen, no matter what, you can't do that." Master Hand said.

Sides have to be chosen.

"Counting you, there are 10 chosen champions left. If the five of us work together along with you and Noah, there is seven, and we have a majority."

"No matter what happens ahead, I want you to remember one thing. You are a member of the Smashers and operating as one of them."

New allies.

"I will strike you down and all that you have become, you wretched fool!"

And new enemies.

"So what's it to be weaklings? Grovel at my feet and beg?"

"Any objections?"

And lots of stupid.

"The CPU is fried. But I should be able to recover some data."

"The future, where the CPU isn't actually important in being the central processing unit."

The next story arc of World Crossing!

**So... okay there's a written trailer. For fun, I'm not going to say what games they are. If you recognized them from the bits of dialogue, don't say it. You'll find out next chapter anyways.  
**

* * *

**Fun fact: In his reveal trailer, Greninja was completely off model (meaning: didn't look like itself) when he was still a shadow. It's hands didn't have the webbing, or the ball pad things. Most likely to hide it's identity more, and play up the similarities to Mewtwo.  
**

**Notes:**

**April 8th, 6pm EST was the Smash Direct. I love when I make pointless facebook posts, just to keep track of the time for some off chance I need to have that.**

**Actually, that was kind of fun to write the whole Nintendo direct thing. Just thinking how some Smashers would find out about who's a new Smasher, and things like that.**

**I will never understand how Ridley's shadow, appearing in a section about bosses, on a Metroid stage, with the subtitle "other boss character appearances." spiraled out of control into some hope that he's playable. I'll just go with Smash Insanity.**

**I originally had Noah finding out that Alex was a chosen champion, through going through the Wii U's menu, and playing Golden Sun, and when it started up, he saw Isaac there, he would of then pieced together everything. There was just one small problem. The day that this is supposed to be taking place on would be April 9th, 2014. Golden Sun didn't come out to the North American Virtual console on the Wii U until April 17th, 2014... a week later.  
**

**Carock is from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. He's sort of a powerful Wizzrobe. And in that game they were only damaged by reflecting their attacks back at them. The blue zombie like appearance was the Majora's Mask incarnation of the Wizzrobe.**

**Aquamentus, Biolizard, Carock. After Biolizard, I realized that It was A and B, and I decided, yeah, lets do something stupid, and send monsters in alphabetical order, because, why not. Why the Great Jaggi doesn't follow this pattern, well that's because it wasn't Alex who was fighting it.**

**"No, and don't call me Shirley." That joke does not work in print, and yet at the same time, it was too stupid for me to not do it.  
**

**Greninja's verbal tick of "Nin" being all that he can say... I took from a character known as Tsukikage (or Nanomachine Ninja, Tsukikage) from a show/card game called "Future Card Buddyfight!" Yes, that's the name of the show. It's a gigantic guilty pleasure. Anyways... Tsukikage, can talk, just chooses not to, and normally says "Nin" and then follows it up with opening a scroll with what he actually is saying. I just thought it was a funny character tic, and would work for Greninja, since you know, it's tongue...**

**I'm finding the hard part isn't writing the chapters, it's finding quotes that can be used as titles... I actually had the chapter title as "The Fire that Burns, and the water that douses" before I decided to do the quotes. At least the upcoming story arc, I can use lines from the games. About this quote: Reboot, is an old CG TV show, which holds up in some aspects, but not others. The 3rd episode, of the 3rd season had a completely different style intro, it homaged James bond intros, where the quote comes from that song. Also the exchange "you have something that they aren't expecting, something that they can't plan for." was a modified quote from a different episode.**

**Until next time!**


	7. The Emergency Mission

**Well, E3 happened, Mother 1 was released on the Virtual Console. Shenmue III got announced, or at least a kickstarter did (and it's all ready funded). There was a new Kingdom Hearts III trailer, and I saw the Void Gear symbol so I'm wondering if Vanitas is coming back... let's just get into this chapter.**

**Van Pat said: ****if [Nugai] intends to bring back the Reaper, I'll laugh. I'll admit that I initially thought that, from Master Hand's initial reaction of Nugai's cousin, that Alex was the Reaper without the memories. It'd be hilariously ironic: The man feared for killing millions in the past ends up saving the world.****  
****I'm really loving the idea of this three player party invading the Underworld to kill Hades. It's a great side story that'll help the overall story. Plus, Dark Pit is fun to see again.**

**Response:**** He may bring back the Reaper. It's kind of undecided right now.**

**_Just for a bit of fun, and since I really like seeing the evolution of a story and how things change over time:_ In the original rough notes, "Alex" was going to be Nugai's child, and he would actually go to The Reaper who would be his uncle/godfather/whatever, to train him and the Reaper was going to have a bigger role. More recent rough stuff was that the Reaper was going to be a 14th chosen champion. But I ditched that.**

**Trapped in the Brawl stuff: The Reaper was killing everyone and destroying everything in the other world in the case that Zenith succeeded in fusing the two worlds, their victory would be meaningless. They wouldn't be able to get what they wanted, none of the technology or weapons. Of course, it doesn't justify what he did.**

**The Dark Pit, Magnus, Phosphora side story was basically trying to figure out something that would bring in other characters and take the focus off of the OC's. Because the OC side of the story is really a slow burn.  
**

**MaskedGamer asked (in a PM)****:Is the 3ds camera the only way the champions will or fight or will there be more possibilities like the different games in the streetpass plaza?**

**And do you have any amiibos?**

**Responses:**** There's more possibilities. Basically whatever I can milk or think of with the 3DS' capabilities. Or even the different games that are available on the system/have streetpass activated for/direct downloaded/the cart in the system. Like for example a generic ability that's available to all of them was with Style Savvy Trendsetters (the fashion shop sim that Nintendo published) they could immediately change their clothing.**

**As for amiibo, I have all that have been released in North America so far. (End of May 2015) The only ones in the foreseeable future I'm probably putting my foot down and not getting are the Donkey Kong and Bowser skylander/amiibos that was just announced at E3. The Animal Crossing Amiibos I might also not be getting... I might just be getting all of the Smash Line.  
**

**Also I have some names/references for some of them. Samus is The Baby, Sheik is Not Zelda, Toon Link is Toonie, Villager is Killager. The squid kids are Ink (boy), Ika (girl), Levi (Squid).**

* * *

**Notes: So, I was kind of blatant about the first game, in the preview. For those who didn't know because they never played it: it's Xenoblade Chronicles. I'm not sure if I'm going to do this for other games, but at least for Xenoblade, since it's relatively new (and it was just recently re-released), I'll have a spoiler range. This is for the whole story arc, not just this chapter. But honestly, any other game that the Smashers are a part of I won't have any spoiler tags for.  
**

**_Xenoblade spoiler range: Location wise: Prison Island-Galahad Fortress_**

**Vague description: Identity of Face Nemesis, the Silver Mechon, the identity of Metal Face, and then who is the leader of the mechons.**

**The other game that will show up and you'll learn the identity of later: EVERYTHING.**

**I also decided to ditch the whole chapter title being a quote thing, it was stupid... It may still be a reference, just I'm not going to say anything regardless.**

* * *

Chapter 7: The Emergency Mission

A group was running up a black tower. Heavy rain was falling, as robotic ships, better known as Mechon, and the defense systems of the High Entia were fighting outside, at the moment a strange barrier was protecting the 6 people in the group, and keeping the Mechon away from the tower, known as Prison Island. The leader, a blonde haired man, with a red sword hanging on his back froze and looked around. "This is it." He said. He closed his eyes, to recall something. "This is the place I saw!"

A giant bronze Mechon bashed itself against the barrier, trying to get through, but to no avail. They all stared at it for several seconds. However, a young looking woman, with whitish hair turned around, and began to run up several sets of stairs. The others followed.

When they got to the top, they saw a gigantic gold gear, and in the middle was a purple giant, with a long white beard. His arms were shackled to the gear. In front of him was an old man, in rather regal robes and armor. He had long wings attached to his head. He was currently holding a staff that was radiating light.

"Melia?!" The old man said not even turning around.

"Father!" Melia replied.

Across the giant's face appeared a smile. Melia and the rest of the group just walked up to the old man, the Emperor of the High Entia: Sorean Antiqua. "Father, who is this?" Melia asked.

The giant just ignored them, and focused his eyes on the young man with the red sword. "Welcome, True Heir to the Monado." He said.

The blonde man just looked at the giant confused. "Who are you?" He asked.

"Shulk, this guy huge." One of his companions, Reyn said.

Melia just turned to her father. "Is this?"

"He is one of the Giants, said to have become extinct eons ago." The Emperor replied. "This is what our forefathers locked away."

"A giant?!" A man with long black hair, Dunban, said.

"Just what's going on?" A woman with a rifle slung across her back, Sharla said.

"Purple guy big." Said a small round animal, known as the Nopon, this one was known as the Heropon Riki.

"I am Zanza." The Giant said. "And I have waited centuries for you."

"You've been waiting for Shulk?!" Melia said surprised. "But I thought our forefathers imprisoned you here?"

"I forged the Monado. It is molded from me. All who wield the sword are made known to me." Zanza replied.

Shulk just placed his hand on grip of the red sword. "You made the Monado?!" He said shocked. "But, all our myths and legends said that it was wielded by the Bionis!?"

"Yes." Zanza replied. "I made it millennia ago to oppose Mechonis."

"But why are you imprisoned?" Shulk asked.

"The Monado controls the principle upon which life is based, the source of your existence - ether. Master the principle of life and all things will bow to you. Your power would be infinite. As you now know, the sword gives the wielder the power of foresight." Zanza said.

"That really didn't answer my question." Shulk replied.

"And I myself once used that sword against the Mechonis, and defeated it." Zanza continued.

"You're telling us you beat the Mechonis with that tiny thing?" Reyn laughed. "Oi, he's just trying to pull our leg Shulk! He just likes the sound of his own voice!"

"He really does." Riki chimed in. "Just like Reyn."

"Shut up fur ball." Reyn quickly snapped.

"Its appearance is merely an illusion." Zanza replied. "Its form morphs to conform to the will of its master. The power comes from within! But its power was feared by some. That is why the High Entia imprisoned me here long ago."

Melia just looked shocked. "That can't be true! Our forefathers would have had a better reason!" She said.

"You are what you are." Zanza replied. "Do you not believe your own eyes? Open your mind! New ruler of the High Entia."

Everyone just looked at Zanza rather shocked. "How he know that?" Riki asked.

"The Monado is the blade of the Bionis. The only force that can oppose the Mechonis. As the wielder grows, so too does his ability to control all things." Zanza said. "Yet there is still power trapped in the sword. The Monado is in shackles."

Shulk just looked surprised. He looked at the sword in front of him and began to inspect every inch. "Shackles?" He said. "I mean, I guess that does make sense, I have been unlocking powers as we go along. I learned how to use the shield to protect in the battle against the Arachno Queen. The ability to increase our speed in the battle against Mechon M71. The ability to purge and send waves of concentrated ether into enemies in the battle against the Puera Telethia. But there's more?"

"The power is suppressed." Zanza replied. "And it was that constraint that gave rise to the faced Mechon. Mechon which cannot be destroyed by the Monado."

"So, these shackles... they must be the reason the Monado can't hurt people as well." Shulk deduced. "Does that have something to do with the faced Mechon?"

"I do not know. You must find that out by yourself." Zanza replied. "I will remove those shackles for you. But you must take the Monado and free me from this prison. Free me, and the Monado will cut down anything you wish. Nothing but a god can stand in your way!"

Shulk began to walk forwards towards Zanza. Melia however rushed up to in front of Shulk. "Don't do it, Shulk!" She said sternly. "Something isn't right here. The Forefathers must have had a good reason to seal him!"

Shulk just looked at Melia and then at the Monado. "I need that power." Shulk replied. "I thought you of all people would understand."

Melia just cringed. "I do... but... It's just..."

"Hold on a minute!" Reyn interjected. "He only said he'd release this new power. Sounds like a good idea to me."

"But..." Melia said. "I can't help but think that something is wrong about this."

Dunban just nodded in agreement. "If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Your ancestors must of had a reason for sealing him."

"Riki don't trust person who doesn't use contractions." Riki added in.

"Melia, please understand." Shulk said. "I must do what I set out to. The Mechon must pay. They killed countless people in the colonies, including your sister Dunban."

Dunban just cringed at the mention of his sister. "I know that. But this just seems too easy."

"The Monado has led us here." Shulk said. "I saw in a vision that it was here that I would gain the power to defeat the faced Mechon. I need that power, if we are to stop them."

"Shulk's right, we're at war!" Sharla said. "We need this power to destroy them. We can not allow them to kill anyone else!"

Dunban just nodded. "I understand." He said. "It's just, is blind faith in the Monado the solution? Your visions have always been fragmented, you've never seen the full picture. One year ago, during the battle of Sword Valley, the Monado destroyed my arm. How much longer will it be until the Monado decides to reject you as well?" Shulk just froze, and stared at Dunban's paralysed right arm for a few seconds. "We only know of three homs who have been able to wield the Monado. I can no longer wield it, if you fall, that will just leave Alvis. And then if it rejects him, who else will there be to take it up?"

"Then isn't that all the more reason to unlock it's power?" Shulk asked. "If it's just going to eventually reject me, we should finish this war as quickly as possible."

"Very well." Dunban said walking away from Shulk

"Young Shulk." Zanza said. "I will not force you. I ask for nothing in return. It is your choice."

Shulk just stood in front of Zanza with the Monado. He let off a sigh before replying. "I will." He activated the Monado, and swung the sword, cutting through the shackles in one swift movement.

The golden gear that Zanza was chained to suddenly exploded into a bright light, and Zanza fell down to the ground, slowly forcing himself up, with an amazing amount of speed for someone who had been kept in the same position for hundreds of years. Zanza just began to let out a roar, as he stood up and then looked down at Shulk. "Heir to the Monado. Your will shall be done! Let the shackles be released!" A bright majestic golden light began to come from Zanza.

"This party's over!" A voice suddenly boomed. Suddenly hitting the barrier was gigantic spear that broke through and instantly impaled Zanza. Zanza began to let out a cry of pain.

"Oh no!" Reyn shouted.

"Zanza!" Shulk shouted.

Zanza just fell backwards, and the barrier that had been surrounding Prison Island vanished. The seven on the tower just turned around to face where the spear had come from. And flying in the air was a black Mechon.

"Metal Face!" Shulk shouted.

"Sorry we're late to the party. What do you think of our leader's gift?" Metal Face cackled.

"How did you know we'd be here?" Reyn asked.

"What's that? The poor insects are a little confused? We're here for the old fool!" Metal Face replied pointing at Zanza. The spear began to glow with a green light.

"Ether?!" Sharla said surprised. Inside the spear was a green liquid that seemed to drain from it, into Zanza. Zanza just began to gasp out in pain. The ether just began to violently react with him, and part of his body began to melt and turn into green smoke.

"If he's dead, he can't power up the Monado!" Metal Face laughed. "You being here's just an added bonus!"

Suddenly in front of Metal Face appeared another Mechon, a silver faced one. This one looked a lot more elegant.

"A silver faced Mechon?" Sharla said.

It just floated in front, and stared at Zanza for several moments. Shulk just quickly ran towards the silver faced Mechon and swung the Monado. "Mechon! You will pay for what you've done!" He shouted. The silver faced Mechon however flew up into the air to avoid the attack.

"Please wait!" The silver face Mechon replied, with a rather feminine voice. "I mean you no harm!"

Shulk however charged towards the silver Mechon once again. "Give us back Fiora!" He shouted. "Give her back!"

As he brought down the Monado, Metal Face blocked the attack with his claws, and sent Shulk flying back. "I told you to stay out of the way, boy!" Metal Face shouted, swinging his claws once again and sending Shulk flying back against the ground right next to Zanza.

"Shulk!" Dunban shouted out.

"Weak! Weak and pathetic!" Metal Face said. He began to walk forwards. However Sharla began to shoot at him with her rifle. Dunban and Reyn just quickly rushed towards Metal Face's feet and rammed into them, doing their best to cause him to topple down. The only time that they had found a face Mechon was vulnerable to any weapon, or any Mechon without the help of the Monado, was when they were toppled. However, Metal Face just quickly kicked them both away.

Melia quickly rushed up and sent a blast of ether towards Metal Face. It hit him directly in the face, only causing him to recoil a bit. "Stupid bug!" He said, as he slashed towards her with his claws. Dunban however quickly dived to push her out of the way of the attack.

Emperor Sorean just turned to his daughter. "Melia!" He shouted out.

"Look at you! Worthless without the Monado!" Metal Face said. "Isn't that right, Dunban?"

Dunban just got up off of the ground, staring at Metal Face. "What or who are you?!" He asked. "How do you know me!" He shouted drawing a sword, and pointing it at Metal Face.

"Let's see if this jogs your memory!" Metal Face replied. He began to jump into the air and swing his claws, aiming directly for where Dunban was standing. Dunban quickly jumped back out of the way to avoid the attack.

"He moves like..." Dunban quickly dodged several more attacks from the claws. "But that's impossible!"

Reyn just quickly ran up to in front of Dunban to block an attack from the claws with his large shield gunlance.

Sharla and Riki were constantly attacking some approaching bronze Mechon, a mass produced model of face Mechon. However their attacks were doing next to nothing. The Silver faced Mechon quickly flew in front of the approaching bronze Mechon. "Cease immediately." It said. "They are not our target."

Sharla was just holding her rifle. "What's going on?" She said.

"Riki don't know." Riki replied.

"Any final words?" Metal Face asked. He began to charge up a large cannon that was on it's body, that was currently aimed directly for Dunban and Reyn, however, he was suddenly attacked by a surge of electricity, that caused him pain. He just began to turn around. "Who dares attack me?!"

"Stop at once! Mechon!" Emperor Sorean shouted. A golden light was around his staff.

"Emperor!" Shulk shouted.

Emperor Sorean just raised his hand and more electricity began to surge around Metal Face, causing the Mechon to appear like he was having a seizure, and then eventually bringing him to his knees, and causing the Mechon to shut down.

"Father!?" Melia said rushing towards him. The two just embraced.

"Are you hurt, Melia?" Sorean asked.

"No, father." Melia replied.

Everyone just began to approach the emperor and Melia. However, Metal Face had reactivated himself. "You're going to pay for that, you bag of bones!" He shouted, getting back up. He just raised his claws.

Quickly Emperor Sorean pushed Melia away. And then he was impaled by Metal Face's claws.

Melia could only look on in shock. "Father!" She shouted out.

"Emperor!" Shulk shouted.

Emperor Sorean just fell to the ground. Melia just quickly rushed to his side. "Father!"

Emperor Sorean just smiled and looked at his daughter. "Melia," he weakly gasped out. "My daughter, I love you. Please lead our people, from our curse..."

"Father, save your breath, we can still save you!" Melia said. "Water! The source of all life! Summon Aqua!" A small blue sphere appeared. In battle, it drained the life from nearby enemies and healed her along with her allies. But here, it wasn't doing too much.

Metal Face just began to laugh. "Looks like he's had his wings clipped! Did you really expect to beat me?!"

Shulk just looked horrified. "Emperor." He just collapsed on the ground, and pounded it. "I failed you."

"Heir to the Monado." Zanza's voice rang out through his head. Shulk just turned to face Zanza's body.

"Zanza, you're alive! Give me the power I need!" Shulk said holding up the Monado above his head.

"I am now a mere shell. The power is already yours." Zanza replied. "The shackles have been broken. Wield the sword. It bends to your will. Think of your enemy, and the power to defeat them is yours!" Zanza let out one final scream of pain, before his body exploded into thousands of small ether particles that went around Shulk.

"Zanza." Shulk said gripping onto the Monado. "Mechon. It's not over! The people of Bionis will never let you triumph!" He swung the Monado, and it began to glow in a blue light, in the centre a new symbol appeared '人' along with the Monado changing it's appearance, the most notable change being a lengthened guard. He just rushed towards Metal Face.

"Be careful!" the Silver Mechon said. "We can not withstand such power!"

Shulk just ran and jumped towards Metal Face, who tried to block the attack with his claws. Much to the large Mechon's shock, Shulk actually did some damage. "You're not invincible!" Shulk shouted. "Monado, enchant!" He waved the Monado and a wave of energy rushed over to each of his comrades. Their weapons were covered with an aura. Previously this aura allowed them to hurt normal Mechon, however they all had trouble with Face Mechon, and the enchantments didn't seem to work.

Riki just rushed towards Metal Face and swung his biter. "Bitey Bitey!" He shouted. Upon impact it left a rather noticeable dent on the Mechon's leg.

Sharla just began to fire at Metal Face with her rifle. The various shots were causing him to stagger backwards. Reyn quickly rushed in, ramming him with his shield gunlance and that caused him to lose his footing and fall back.

"Summon Flare, Summon Bolt!" Melia said.

"Melia, Shara!" Shulk shouted. "You two, maybe you can save the emperor! We'll take care of this battle!"

"Are you sure Shulk?" Sharla asked. "That will mean only you will be healing everyone."

"I'm positive!" Shulk replied. "Don't worry about us, just try and save the emperor!"

Melia just quickly discharged the ether that she had summoned at Metal Face, and the two rushed over to the Emperor's side. He just weakly looked at Melia and Sharla. "Water! The source of all life! Summon Aqua!" Melia shouted, summoning three blue ether orbs. In battle, those close to her while she had an aqua ether orb out, were able to recover some of their wounds. She just bent down to father.

Sharla was shooting some healing bullets into the air. As they came down, they discharged exploded with some healing energy. The emperor just weakly looked at the two of them. "Do not waste your energy on me." He said.

"Father." Melia said a bit shocked.

"A small trace of ether from that spear managed to get onto his claws." The Emperor weakly said. "No matter what you do, my time is just about up. You best help them fight against the Mechon."

Melia just struggled for several seconds, before rushing off to battle. Sharla quickly followed.

Despite his size, Metal Face was actually quite agile. He was trying to stay away from Shulk, swinging his claws whenever he saw the chance. However Shulk fought back, and with the combined effort of Reyn, Dunban, and Riki they were able to leave visible damage on the Mechon's armor. Shulk suddenly sped up, he had used Monado Speed to increase his speed and suddenly appeared behind Metal Face. "Back Slash!" Shulk shouted, bringing down the Monado across Metal Face's back.

The giant machine staggered forwards. He just quickly took to the air, and began to aim a cannon at them. "You're really annoying!" Metal Face shouted. "Flies like you should just be swatted!"

He began to charge up energy on a cannon that was attached to his back. However just as he was about to fire, a bullet hit the cannon, and exploded, causing Metal Face to shift where he was aiming. The attack from the cannon just hit some ground where no one was currently standing.

Metal Face just returned to the ground, and looked now at the 6 opponents. He raised up his claws.

"Feel darkness blacker than midnight!" Melia shouted. From the ground, dark tendrils suddenly shot up, and wrapped itself around Metal Face paralysing him.

Shulk, Reyn, Dunban, and Riki just turned to see Melia and Sharla approaching them. "Thanks." Reyn said.

"Let's end this battle quickly!" Melia said.

"What about the Emperor?" Shulk asked.

Melia just shook her head. "There is nothing we can do." She replied. "All we can do is finish off this scoundrel before father..."

"I understand." Shulk said. "Let's make quick work of him! Together we are invincible!"

Dunban rushed towards Metal Face, who swung his claws down at the swordsman. However Reyn quickly blocked the attack with his shield gunlance. "Go get 'em, Dunban!" Reyn said.

"Thanks Reyn." Dunban quickly said, rushing past Reyn right to Metal Face. He jumped into the air, and began to swing his sword at the chest of the Mechon. "Born in a world of strife!" He said after his first strike, he slid down the side of the Mechon and quickly turned around. "Against the odds!" He said as he did his second strike against the leg of Metal Face. "We choose to fight!" he said as he slashed the other leg of Metal Face. "Blossom Dance!" He once again jumped into the air, this time slashing upwards.

"Dunban!" Metal Face shouted.

"F-f-freezinate!" Riki suddenly shouted, attacking Metal Face's leg. However what he actually was doing was attacking the ground, making ice appear. Reyn saw this and quickly charged for Metal Face's leg, smashing into it with his shield gunlace. This was enough to cause Metal Face to topple to the ground.

Melia had summoned several different balls of energy, and suddenly discharged all of them at Metal Face stunning him.

Shulk jumped up and swung down the Monado, cutting off Metal Face's left arm, sending him off balance and causing him to slide across the ground.

"You!" Metal Face shouted frustrated.

Shulk just walked towards him, the Monado at his side. He was completely furious. "You will know the pain and suffering you caused the Emperor and Fiora!" He raised the Monado above his head and readied himself to deliver the final blow. He swung down.

"DESIST!" The Silver Mechon said, rushing in to block the blow. The attack hit across it's chest, cutting part of it off. Shulk just looked up, and watched as the Silver Mechon fell down.

"Good, now you feel it! Swing the blade to your heart's content." Zanza's voice rang in Shulk's head.

Shulk just looked a bit surprised. "What?!" He muttered to himself.

"Wait." The voice of the Silver Mechon said. Parts of it began to fell off, narrowly missing Shulk. He just looked up at the Mechon, and stared at where he had cut. He was then just frozen in fear. Where he had cut, he had revealed a cockpit, and inside was a homs woman, although her face was obscured by a mask. "Is this what you truly desire, Zanza?"

"I see now. It is as I suspected. You exist outside the preestablished harmony!"

The homs woman just reached up and removed her mask. Everyone just stared in shock.

"No way." Reyn managed to say.

Shulk just stared at the familiar blonde hair woman. "Fi- Fiora?!"

The most shocked was Dunban. "Fiora!" He said, walking forwards. "You're still alive!" He just stared in shock at seeing his little sister back from the grave. However suddenly the left shoulder of the silver Mechon exploded.

"Zanza, you have not changed at all. That is clear." Fiora said. "But still, I cannot..."

The Silver Mechon just began to float and fly away. "Fiora!" Dunban shouted, rushing towards her. Reyn, and Shulk followed. She just looked back, emotionless.

"Wait!" Shulk shouted out.

"My mission is complete." Fiora said. "Returning to base." And with that she flew off.

"You were lucky this time, Dunban!" Metal Face said, also flying away. "But next time, I'll slice you in two!"

As Shulk, Reyn and Dunban got to the edge of Prison Island, all they could do was shout. "Fiora, it's me Shulk! Fiora!" It wasn't long until they had completely disappeared from their sight. Shulk just fell to his knees and began to scream. "FIORA!" He just began to pound his fist against the ground in frustration. "Damn it!" He shouted.

They stayed there for several moments, letting the cold rain just hit against them. Eventually Shulk got back up.

They had walked over back to Melia, Riki, and Sharla who had gathered around Emperor Sorean, who was still breathing, but it was quite clear that he was getting weaker. "I failed." Shulk said, kneeling down. "We were too late again. I saw it. I knew it would happen. But we still failed." He pounded his fist against the ground once again. "What's the point of seeing the future if I can't change it!"

"Why? Why did this have to happen?" Reyn said.

Melia was just crying. "Father." She managed to get out.

"Melia, the hope of our people, you must not cry." Emperor Sorean weakly said.

"Don't say that! I don't care how improper it is. Let me cry." Melia sobbed out.

Emperor Sorean just smiled. "Melia."

"Why does it have to be me, if all it takes is to be half Homs?" Melia asked.

"Is that what you think?" Emperor Sorean said. "You are very much mistaken. To become the hope of the High Entia is a fate that you choose for yourself. As long as you remember this, it is certain that you will be worthy of that name. But remember this also. It is not because you are the hope of the High Entia that I love you. It is because... I love you that I wish for you to become that hope." Melia just continued to sob. Emperor Sorean just turned to Shulk. "Heir to the Monado... Don't blame yourself for this. I chose to accept my fate. I now leave the sword in your hands. The sword that my forefathers sealed away. With it, you can succeed."

Shulk just looked up at the Emperor. "Your Majesty." He said.

Sorean just turned to his daughter. "Melia. Cry for as long as you must." He said, gasping for air. "But when your tears are dry..." He was unable to finish the sentence. He just smiled and breathed his last.

Melia just held her father. "Father, no!" She cried out. They spent several moments in silence.

Shulk just stood up and faced the direction that the face Mechon had flown off to. "Melia, come with me." Shulk said.

"But I..."

"You'll have plenty of time to think about your empire and your people's hopes. If you need me, I will be at your side. But you are an individual. You are Melia Antiqua. And you can't let them get away with this!"

"You're right. My foremost concern is making them pay." Melia said.

* * *

Some time had passed. Emperor Sorean's body had been moved. And a silver haired man, wearing purple and white walked towards the spear that had felled Zanza. His name was Alvis, an ally of Shulk, and the person who taught him how to use Monado Purge. He was also the seer of the High Entia. "Well played indeed." He said. "Zanza."

"Heheheheh" A voice laughed, seemingly coming from the spear. "I do what is necessary for the world."

Alvis just leaned against the spear. "I could have very easily stood in for you." He said.

"Your sentiment is appreciated." Zanza replied. Ether began to spread out. "Hmm... I see a storm on the horizon."

"Indeed, one that neither of us could have predicted." Alvis said. "During that battle, the Bionis shook. I doubt they felt it, since Prison Island was suspended."

"What are you talking about Alvis?" Zanza asked.

"In sword valley, something appeared." Alvis replied. "I know not how it got there. But chaos radiates from that place. Something that was not meant to be is now there... They will probably be going towards it, since it's now blocking the way to Galahad Fortress."

"You must go with them, and make sure he isn't hurt by this new development..." Zanza replied.

Alvis just nodded. "Of course."

* * *

Meanwhile, on Earth:

Thursday morning was a bit interesting. The increased amount of people in the house, made the morning routine hell. It probably didn't help that Alex was so exhausted that he actually missed the alarm ringing the first time. Well, he heard it, he just immediately shut it off and went back to sleep, and probably would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for Zoroark, shaking him and violently waking him up.

All ready with the decreased time, and the increase of people in the house, it was a bit of a fight to get to the washrooms. Thankfully, since he had showered the previous night to get off all the dirt, Alex felt like he could skip the shower in the morning. He just rushed down to the downstairs washroom, and just did his business there.

And then there was breakfast. He just quickly wrote a note for when Saki, Isaac, and Lucas got down there, that they would have to make their own, and prayed that they didn't burn down the house. In the mean time he quickly began to throw in some waffles that could go into the toaster, and told Noah to eat some fruit.

Despite Master Hand's word that Noah could go to his old school and no events would take place. Noah was still nervous, and unsure of how successful the memory altering had been.

"Maybe I shouldn't go to school..." Noah said.

"Sorry, but you're going to have to go." Alex said.

"But... what if..."

"All right, how about this." Alex sighed. "I'll give you Zoroark's cell phone for the day."

"What?!" Zoroark said annoyed.

"Not like you were using it." Alex replied. "Anyways, if anything comes up, contact us immediately, and we'll be there."

It reassured him a little bit. "Okay." He said.

Alex just let off a heavy sigh. This was going to be interesting, to say the least.

Alex had to drive the kid to school. When he got there, Noah just told them to wait in the parking lot for a few minutes. "Okay." Alex said, turning off the car. He let off a heavy sigh and the waiting game began. Alex just looked around the parking lot, and then suddenly realized what school he was at. "Z, we're at Nathan's school."

Zoroark just glanced at Alex in disbelief. "You didn't notice this before?"

"I was just following Noah's instructions on how to get here. I wasn't paying attention to where we were actually going." Alex replied. "It's not my fault he took a different route than I normally do." He looked out and standing in front of the car was a kid just staring at them. "How long has he been there?"

"He's been there since we got here." Zoroark said. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I guess I'm just stressed." Alex laughed. "I'll be so glad when this is all over."

"Me too, Master." Zoroark said.

Alex glanced back at the kid and noticed that the kid had a 3DS out. Alex just pulled out his 3DS and checked the StreetPass. "Z, check your StreetPass."

Zoroark did so. They all got to the Mii Street Pass Plaza. And Alex looked at his screen. The Mii was different, it had a golden aura around it. But it only appeared on his 3DS.

"What's that?" Zoroark asked looking at Alex's 3DS.

"If I had to guess, I'd put my money on it being a sign that he's a chosen champion." Alex said. "Damn it, insurance is all ready expensive enough on this car, and mom will kill me... I don't want a fight right now."

Alex just closed the 3DS and rolled down the window. For the first time, he actually inspected the kid. He had rather short dark hair, and was currently wearing jeans and a red t-shirt. On his back was of course a backpack. "Are you a friend or a foe?" Alex asked bluntly.

"I'm a friend." He said. "I don't mean you any harm, but I want to know why you have a Zoroark in your car, and why you were driving Noah here? He's an only child, and his house burned down on the weekend with his father dead."

Alex just hit his head against the steering wheel. "Crap..." He glanced outside at the kid. "You're a chosen champion, right?"

"Yes."

"No one else knows that, their memories have supposedly been written over." Alex said. "At least that's what Master Hand said, and I'm just doing this to make sure he gets his education, the kid was a real pain you know that? He wanted to skip school."

The kid just laughed. "Are you normal. Of course he'd want to, who wouldn't?"

"Anyways, for better or worse, I'm looking after him now." Alex sighed. "My name is Alex. What's yours?" Alex asked.

"Marco." He said.

"Okay, next you said Zoroark." Alex said. "Explain yourself."

"My ability is to be able to see through Illusions." Marco said. "And it even worked in the dreams."

Alex just sighed. "So you know I'm number 13... Can we book this some other time?"

"Wait, you've got the wrong idea! I all ready said I'm a friend, and I don't want to fight you." Marco said. "We've all seen the fight you had against the others by now."

Alex just looked a bit shocked. "You've seen me fight? How?" he wondered.

"Nintendo Video." Marco said.

Alex just opened up the Nintendo Video menu. There was a new tab down at the bottom right beside connection check. Alex just tapped it and he was taken to a screen with several videos. One with his fight against number 12. Another was his fight against Noah. Another with Noah's fight against number 3, another with his fight against number 7 and number 3.

"I never noticed this..."

"It's all the videos of the fights that the chosen champions do." Marco explained. Alex just glanced at it again, looking for other tabs, or something to show more videos, but there was nothing there.

"So, that means that we were the only ones fighting..." Alex sighed.

"It just seems like people want you out." Marco said. "Or rather, Master Hand wanted you out. But, now everyone has seen your strength, and if they are going to try and take you out they need to be ready. And the majority of those fights were without your Smashers..."

Alex just nodded. "Yes..."

"Even if Master Hand wants you out you still sent a message to him that you won't go down without a fight." Marco said.

"You're pretty smart kid." Alex said.

"It's what another chosen champion said." Marco admitted. "He didn't see you as a threat, he saw you as a great ally."

Alex just smiled. "We'll if there are other chosen champions who wish to meet me peacefully, I'd like to meet them too."

"I'll relay that message then." Marco said.

"Thanks." Alex said. "Listen, if we're going to be allies, watch over Noah."

"I'll try." Marco said. "But... I can't exactly say we're friends."

Alex just sighed. "I see... One last thing, how did you know about the Nintendo video thing?"

"Did you even read the manual?" Marco wondered.

Alex just blinked a few times. "Manual?"

"Under the one that gives you the chosen champion number..." Marco said. "There is a digital manual."

Alex rushed over to that program and saw that he was correct.

"It lists several of the changes and the powers that are available to us." Marco said.

"I guess I actually have to read it now." Alex said a bit shocked. Although, he remembered Mr. AR saying something similar. "Guess, I have something to do in school now."

"Well I better go now." Marco said. "Before people get suspicious about why I'm talking to a complete stranger."

"Yeah." Alex replied as he nodded.

"But, if the others want to meet up, where can I find you?" Marco asked.

Alex just froze for several seconds, he looked at the kid and pondered how to respond to this. He didn't exactly want to just hand out his address. These people could still come after him, and the one advantage he did have so far was the security of his own home. "Promise me, you will only tell them if the others wish to meet up." Alex said.

Marco just nodded, and Alex just told him. He just looked up in shock. "But then, that means..."

"Yeah." Alex replied. "If you or others don't come peacefully, I will use full security measures."

Marco just nodded, and began to walk away. As Alex began to lean back into the car seat, his phone began to buzz, and he looked down. Noah had sent a message that he was fine and that they could go. But before they left, they quickly arranged for a pick up time later in the day.

The rest of Thursday was peaceful, no monsters or other Chosen Champions came to fight them. It was probably for the better. After school, it had been rather busy without that stuff. Alex had to go get an entire wardrobe for both Noah and Lucas. During that, he was beginning to worry about getting home and making dinner, since having two extra mouths to feed with Noah and Lucas was also a bit stressful. Alex eventually just broke down and ordered some pizzas, which he began to fear that he was going to get very sick of in a few weeks.

Friday, he actually managed to get up on time, and not screw up the entire morning routine. He got Noah to school on time, and to cap it all off, he wrote a test without using aura to blow a hole in the wall in frustration. After school, and he picked up Noah, and then dropped him off at the house. Alex then said he was going out to the mall. Zoroark insisted on coming, Alex tried to get him to stay behind, but Zoroark reminded him that other Chosen Champions could attack.

Alex just sighed, and reluctantly agreed. Eventually they departed to the mall. This time, taking the bus instead of driving. Alex just let off a heavy sigh, and closed his eyes. He looked up at the ceiling of the bus.

"Why are we taking the bus?" Zoroark asked.

"The car is getting low on gas. It's too expensive right now, we spent too much on clothes and pizza yesterday, hopefully it will also go down next week." Alex just replied.

"And why are we going to the mall then?" Zoroark asked.

"I just needed some me time, I need alone time." Alex replied. "A way to get away from everything, you know?"

"And what would you call school?" Zoroark wondered.

"Boring, stressful, stupid, and I'm still being watched by Cody." Alex replied.

They got to the mall, and Alex just walked around before going into the game store. He started off looking through the used games bins, hoping something would catch his eye. "Is there anything I can help you find?" The associate asked.

He paused and thought about it. "Doubt you have it, but any copies of Xenoblade?"

"Unfortunately, no."

Alex just nodded. "Thanks."

He continued to looking through the various games. He didn't feel like himself. There was nothing that was popping out at him. No matter what on other days, whenever he went to a game store, he'd always find one or two things even in the used bins that he'd like to play, even if it turned out to be garbage. But right now there was nothing popping out, they might as well just have been empty shelves.

"Are you all right?" Zoroark asked.

"No." Alex replied.

"Have you eaten anything since lunch?" Zoroark wondered. "Maybe we should go to the food court, and just have a burger or something."

Alex just smiled. "Yeah, that would be nice..."

They walked out and found a seat. Alex sat down, and just pulled out his 3DS, and began to go through some streetpasses he got while in the store, most likely from the 3DS kiosk and the employees. Zoroark on the other hand went and got food. He came back and just gave the burger, fries, and a root beer to Alex. He began to eat the burger, and Zoroark watched intensely. After several bites, Zoroark just had to speak up. "Okay, what's wrong, now I know something's up because you haven't chewed me out for not saying 'no pickles'."

"I don't know." Alex replied, beginning to dissect his burger, and take out the pickles. "I just feel drained, and..."

"Is it because of aura, and you're still exhausted from the battles?" Zoroark wondered.

Alex just shook his head. "No." He said. "I felt fine yesterday, but now... Now, I just feel bleh..."

Zoroark just nodded, "Maybe if we head home and rest, you'll feel better in the morning."

Alex just nodded. "Yeah..." He said getting up. "Guess it's also hard to shop for video games when anything can come out of them and try to kill you." He weakly laughed.

They walked through the mall and got back to the bus stops, they waited a few minutes and then the bus came. The two of them got onboard and made their way home.

Soon they had arrived and gotten off at their stop. "Z, I'm just going to take my time, I'll be walking around the block." Alex said. "Can you go home and start boiling water for some tea?"

"But what if something happens?" Zoroark asked.

"Nothing will happen." Alex reassured the Pokemon. "It's still daytime. I'd be able to see anyone coming a mile away. And there's the possibility of too many witnesses. If someone wanted to attack me, they would have to be discreet."

Zoroark just nodded. He was still unsure, but eventually just ran back to the house. Alex just let off a small sigh of relief, even if he loved Zoroark's company he wanted to just be alone for a few minutes. He walked slowly, taking in the sights of the neighbourhoods.

It was so peaceful, especially since after the past two weeks' events, he suddenly felt like he didn't belong here, the place where he grew up. Despite being here for his entire life, things suddenly felt foreign.

He took a small detour and went to a park. Currently there was no one else there, so he just sat down on a swing. For a few minutes he swung, trying to get as high as he could, and then eventually just jumped off, and landed safely on the ground. He turned around and then began to walk back home.

He had turned the corner and saw that there was a group of five people in front of his house.

"So, this is where he lives?" One said.

"Yeah." Another added on.

"Wait, so he's really the son of that famous author!"

"And what if I am?" Alex asked.

They jumped, and turned around surprised. "What are you doing here?!"

"I live here." Alex said. "I think the proper questions are: who are you? And what are you doing here?"

"Well, Marco said you wanted to meet us." One said.

Alex just began to size them up, but remained cautious. Eventually believing that if they were going to attack him, they would have done it all ready. "That's true. Okay, well, come in, though I don't really have that much food to feed you guys."

"Ah, we can just order pizza." One said.

Alex cringed. "We didn't even finish off yesterdays pizza, I'm going to have leftovers forever..." he had muttered to himself, out loud.

They all ignored Alex's comment and walked in. Alex's first instinct was to close all of the various blinds. Saki and Isaac were looking at the group a bit concerned.

"Okay, I'll order some pizza for delivery, how many am I feeding?" Alex asked. "We've got 6 here. And I see five of you, but are your Smashers going to be here too?"

"Yes." One of them said. "Fifteen others plus your six, for 21."

Alex just nodded. "Okay. Any preferences, or are we just going to have pepperoni and cheese? Maybe a Hawaiian? Any vegetarians."

They just quickly said what they preferred, and Alex quickly began to write it down, a few minutes later he just walked out to the kitchen and grabbed a phone. He quickly dialled and ordered the pizzas. The person seemed a bit shocked at the amount of pizza ordered, and said it would be about 30 minutes.

Alex just sighed. He really wasn't expecting this many people. He just made his way down into the basement, and found Noah playing with Lucas on the Wii U.

"Hey," Alex sighed. "Some people are over, and I think you should come up and see them."

"Okay, after this game." Lucas said.

He just made his way to the fruit cellar and quickly pulled out a container of pop. He just brought it upstairs, and put it on the dining room table. Much to his surprise, now there were a bunch of Smashers in the house. Not counting Saki and Isaac, there were 10 Smashers in total. Pikachu, Ness, Meta Knight, Jigglypuff, Roy, Pit, Mario, Fox, Falco, and Marth. All eyes just seemed to focus on Alex, which just made him a bit nervous. "I well, brought some pop up from downstairs." He said. "I've also ordered the pizza."

There was just silence.

"So, I guess we should probably introduce ourselves then." Alex said. "Well, I'm number 13, Alex, and as you've probably all know, my Smashers are Saki and Isaac."

The Smashers were all looking at Alex, trying to size him up. He could easily tell that they were all thinking the same thing: '_why would Master Hand want him eliminated?_' He just walked over to his knapsack and pulled out a binder a few seconds later he tore out some pages, and just handed them to people.

"Now I'd like your names." Alex said. "I'm sure we know all of the Smashers. And I apologize in advance if it takes me a while to get them... I've never really been that good with names, so I just ask that you write your name on this page and put it on your shirt with some tape"

"What is this? Grade school?" One wondered.

"Just do it." Another one said writing his name on the page. Alex just handed out some tape, and also wrote his name on a page and stuck it to his shirt. Everyone else followed through.

"Well, you know me." Marco said. "But once again, I'm Marco."

"And I assume you've at least seen me since we go to the same school and are in the same grade, I'm Hayden." Hayden was clearly the oldest of the five strangers. Alex guessed that they were the same age, as he had seen him around the school, and could of sworn they had a class together a few years ago. Hayden had light brown hair, and was currently wearing black jean shorts, and an orange t-shirt.

The remaining three were a bit smaller. They were wearing the school uniform of the school that Alex went to. He assumed they were just grade nines. "Well, I'm Rune."

"You can call me Echo."

"And that leaves me, I'm Oren." Alex kind of doubted that those were actually their names, and they were just using code names due to the situation. Rune had short blonde hair, that was spiked a bit, and wore a pair of glasses. Echo had rather dark hair, but there were splotches of highlights through out it. And finally Oren had quite clearly dyed orange hair.

"And I'm Noah." Noah said walking towards them, Alex was a bit shocked at Lucas not being with him, but just figured he was in the washroom and would be up in a few moments. He looked at Marco and just glared. "Why are you here?"

"I'm a chosen champion too." Marco said.

Noah was just glaring. Alex just stepped between them. "All right you two, that's enough." Alex said.

A few of the other Chosen Champions were staring at Noah. "Wait, isn't that the missing kid? What's the full story with him?" Hayden asked.

"He kind of had nowhere to go, since his house burnt down and his father died." Alex replied. "He's staying here..."

"Isn't that kind of dangerous?" Oren wondered. "Imagine if Master Hand gave him an offer he couldn't refuse. Such as bringing back his father."

"That won't happen." Alex said.

"How can you be so sure?" Oren said.

"He is." Marco said. "Noah wouldn't do that."

"How can you-"

"Oren, please drop the subject." Hayden said bluntly. "You should be paying more attention to what you say and people's reactions."

Noah was on the verge of tearing up.

"Thank you, Hayden." Alex said. The room was just filled once again with an awkward, ugly silence. Occasionally it was broken by a chosen champion going back to their group of two Smashers, and trying to just get a few words out. At the very least, Alex was able to figure out who among the Chosen Champions had who as their respective Smashers.

Marco: Mario &amp; Meta Knight  
Hayden: Ness &amp; Roy  
Rune: Fox &amp; Marth  
Echo: Jigglypuff &amp; Falco  
Oren: Pikachu &amp; Pit

Otherwise, none of them knew what to say. Alex just looked at each of the chosen champions. "Okay, seriously, are we going to have to start pulling out the ice breaker games?"

"No." everyone said.

Alex just laughed.

"Why don't we just watch some TV until the pizza gets here." Rune suggested.

They turned on the TV and began to argue about what to watch. The only one who didn't seem too into it was Ness, he seemed tired, and drained, there were bags under his eyes. He was constantly yawning. He also looked way too tense, and like the littlest thing could set him off. He clearly didn't want to be here.

Thankfully within a few minutes, the doorbell rang. Alex just went to it to get the food and pay the person. He then made his way back in, and put it on the dining room table, followed by some plates.

"All right, the pizza is here." Alex said.

They all just walked over to the pizza and began to eat it. But, much to his shock, Alex realized that Lucas was still not here.

"Noah, can I talk to you for a few minutes?" Alex asked, stopping the kid from getting his pizza.

Noah just nodded. They walked downstairs, into the basement, where Lucas was just playing something alone on the Wii U. Alex just let off a heavy sigh. "Lucas, you should come up too."

"I... don't want to." Lucas replied. "I know there are Smashers up there. You can hear Falco a mile away."

"Listen, we've got some food up there." Alex said.

"I'll just get some later after everyone leaves." Lucas replied.

"There probably won't be any left if they start going up for seconds." Alex said.

"Then I'll just reheat the pizza from yesterday." Lucas said.

It was quite clear to see that Lucas was actually afraid of going up there. "Lucas, you're going to have to face the Smashers for what you did eventually." Alex said. "Listen, we'll be right there with you, it will be painless. I promise. And I think there's someone up there who wants to see you, no he needs to see you."

Lucas just shook his head. "I'd rather not go up."

Noah just looked at his Smasher. "Please Lucas."

"No." Lucas stubbornly replied. "There is nothing you can say or do that will get me up there!"

"Well, desperate times call for desperate measures." Alex said. He just lifted up the young kid and slung him over his shoulder. Lucas just began to swing his arms and kick his legs, at the person. But Alex had anticipated that he would start to fight back, and had reinforced his body with a bit of aura. He still felt the blows, especially when Lucas began to get desperate and include some PK energy into the attacks. They were able to pierce his defenses, but Alex just clenched his teeth and endured it.

"Put me down!" Lucas demanded.

Alex just sighed. As he was climbing the stairs, he seemed to lose his balance a few times with all of Lucas' constant moving. It seemed the fear of them falling was enough to stop Lucas from attacking. Eventually they got up to the dining room. Everyone was just staring at him..

"Sorry about that." Alex sighed. "I was just making sure this guy got some food, and he was telling me he wasn't hungry. I'd like to introduce you all to Noah's Smasher."

Alex just placed Lucas down. His back was facing the Smashers, but all ready he could feel their gaze on his back, on his trademark yellow and red shirt striped t-shirt, and on his blonde hair put up into a swoosh. He didn't budge, so Alex just put his hands on his shoulders, and forced him around, to do a complete 180.

There was just silence. Most of the Smashers were just staring in shock, the few that said anything was the obvious statement wondering why Lucas was here. But Ness on the other hand just stared at Lucas for several seconds. He put down his barely touched plate of pizza, and just stood up. Mentally trying to confirm that the person in front of him was indeed his friend, and not just a look alike. After several seconds, he seemed to have his confirmation and just rushed forwards towards Lucas and tackled him to the ground.

There was a rather heavy, and painful sounding thump, but it was quickly replaced with the sound of someone crying. Everyone could only look on in shock. "Lucas you idiot!" Ness cried. "You stupid, stupid, idiot!"

They all stared at the two friends. Ness just continued to cry and buried his head right into Lucas' chest. "I'm not letting you go. I'm not letting you run away again..."

Lucas just looked at everyone, his face was going red with embarrassment. "Ness..." Lucas said, his voice trembling with fear.

"Do you have any idea how scared I was? How lonely it was..." Ness said. "I was afraid to tell the other Smashers that you had run away... I thought that if I told them they would jump to the conclusion that you were a spy, and then we would have to find and kill you."

Lucas just patted his friend on the back. "I'm sorry." He said.

"I came here with the intention of finding you and dragging you back, so you could at least say goodbye properly." Ness wept. "I did whatever I could to try and find you, but I couldn't, somehow you evaded all of my attempts to look for you. And then I began to fear the worst. And then I feared what Nana, Popo, Red, and Toon would say and do to me if I failed to bring you back."

"But I'm here..." Lucas nervously laughed.

"And then you just join the fight like nothing happened at all!" Ness said. "You stupid, stupid, idiot..." Ness just punctuated each 'stupid with pounding his fist against the ground.

Lucas just weakly laughed. "I guess I deserve that..."

"You said you were afraid, but we're all afraid." Ness said. "We don't know what's going on. We don't know what's happening..."

"I know..." Lucas said.

"Don't ever run away again..." Ness whispered, before falling asleep. Lucas looked a bit scared and, rather uncomfortable, since all that was under him was a cheap throw rug, and then a hard tile floor, and well, everyone was still staring at them. Roy just walked over, and lifted Ness up. Lucas looked around, and stared at the various confused gazes of the rest of the Smashers, and Chosen Champions.

"He was so exhausted with worry." Roy said. "He barely got any sleep, or anything because of you."

Lucas just nodded. "I'm sorry." He repeated.

"He was more worried about you than the fate of the worlds." Roy said. "I want you to realize how much you mean to him, so nothing like that ever happens again."

Lucas just continued to nod. Alex just stared at the two of them for several seconds. "We can move him to the guest room." Alex said.

"Right." Lucas said in agreement. Roy and Lucas moved Ness to the guest room, with Lucas leading the way. Soon Roy came back.

"Lucas will be with Ness in case he wakes up." Roy said, he then quickly added on. "Although, I doubt that's likely."

"You said that he had been looking for him." Alex said.

Roy just nodded. "I don't think Ness has had a good sleep in a week. Also Lucas told me to tell you that you lied, you said that it wouldn't hurt at all."

"Well, I didn't think someone tackling him was what was going to happen." Alex nervously laughed.

However a few Smashers were just still confused. "Can someone explain what just happened?" Pit said confused.

Roy just nodded and explained everything. "Lucas had run away, the night of the attack." Roy said.

"He was in our ship, and escaped with us, we knew there was a stowaway, but we couldn't actually do anything between all of the damage, and being unable to go back, and losing communications." Isaac said. "He must of escaped while we were sleeping, or we were out of the ship, and has been hiding in the forest."

"And well, since Noah didn't have his Smashers, Lucas teamed up with him." Alex said. "And now they're both staying here."

It seemed like Lucas coming up was actually the best thing that could happen. It got the conversation started, if they had any doubts that Alex was a bad person, it seemed to erase it.

"So, did you actually read the manual?" Marco asked.

"Yes, I finally did that during a class." Alex sighed. "Nearly got caught by the teacher a few times, but if I at least know the rules and stuff, I'm not at a disadvantage." Although there wasn't really a whole lot that he didn't all ready know. Chosen Champions could hunt each other down, fight, the winner gains the losers powers, safety precautions were in check. There was the psychic link, and a few other things that were available to everyone that, such as the faceraiders heads that acted as sentry units.

"So, what's with the white hair?" Rune asked.

Alex just groaned. "It's aura." He replied.

"Aura?"

"The thing that Lucario uses?" Marth asked.

"Yeah, that." Alex replied.

"Humans can use aura?" Roy said a bit confused. "Especially someone on this side?"

Alex just nodded. "It's not really a common thing, even I only know two other humans who can use it." He said. "Nugai, and then Hero, who I had to fight earlier..."

The room was just filled with silence. It was quite clear that they had all seen the battle with Hero on Nintendo Video. "I'm just glad we didn't have to fight him."

Alex couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah... Damn that hurt. I really don't want to fight another aura user. He tried to make all my internal organs explode."

Several people just cringed. "So, the feeling like when Lucario hits you with a force palm." Fox said. "Just a sudden blast of energy. And then you have that burning feeling throughout your body..."

"No, it was much more intense than that." Alex sighed.

Most just returned back to their pizza. A few went up for seconds. Their own individual conversations began to mingle through the room.

"You said you wanted to meet him." Marth laughed.

"Yeah." Roy replied.

"What's your thoughts?" Marth said.

"He doesn't trust us." Roy replied. "Not once has he let down his guard. It seems that the other Chosen Champions he has fought against, has soured his opinion."

Marth just nodded. "And hypothetically, if we were to attack him, would you attack him, or defend or do nothing?"

"I haven't been too truthful to you." Roy said. "Ness told me that Lucas ran away, and that he was going to find him over here. I have the feeling that Ness would be defending him since he helped Lucas. I'll be siding with the target everyone wants dead. Sorry."

Marth just laughed. "I see."

"And you?" Roy asked.

"Meeting him now, I don't see how he can be as big of a threat that Master Hand said. Seeing him fight, though I think he's just like us, he has a fire and affinity for battle." Marth replied. "I want to fight him, but in friendly match."

"Same." Roy replied.

Alex had sat down beside Hayden, and the two had begun to chat it up.

"So, don't you think it's odd?" Hayden asked.

"What's odd?" Alex said confused.

"Why we were all able to find each other so quickly." Hayden said. "I mean, five of us went to the same high school. Two went to the same grade school. That's just way too suspicious. Shouldn't we be spread out more?"

Alex just shook his head. "No, I don't think so. The original intention of the Chosen Champions was for us to all work together, so we needed to be close. I also think that this area is the epicenter of where the worlds are beginning to cross over, that's why everyone was from this general area."

"But why here?" Meta Knight asked. "There didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary from when I did scans when we first arrived here.."

"Same." Fox added on.

"Now that you mention it, it seemed way too normal with my scans." Falco said.

Alex just glanced over at Saki and Isaac. "What's this about scans?"

"Oh, just our ships that we came here in, just some advanced stuff, you know?" Saki replied. "We're supposed to be looking for rifts, and what's causing our worlds to fuse."

Alex nodded. "Okay, that makes sense."

Time passed, and Alex eventually got up to check on what remained of the pizza. There was only about half of a pizza left. "Is any one else having any?" he quickly asked. After they all responded no, he quickly put it away in the fridge. He came back into the room where they were all gathered. "Okay." Alex said, looking over each of them. "Let's get down to business. Why are you here?"

They were all quiet. Hayden was the one that spoke up.

"We came here to form an alliance with you." Hayden said. "Counting you, there are 10 chosen champions left. If the five of us work together with you and Noah, there is seven, and we have a majority."

"Why would there need to be a majority?" Alex wondered.

"I'm thinking of this as a game." Hayden said. "Master Hand sent the Smashers to us. However, he needs us. As the Smashers will be out of place, and we know this world better than he does."

"I'm sorry to say this, but what if I believe I can't trust you." Alex said. "You could still destroy my 3DS and knock me out of the game."

"If we register friend codes with each other, we can't destroy each other's 3DS." Hayden said. Alex just nodded. "It registers us as team mates."

"Right." Alex replied. It was there within the rules.

"Please check the one program." Hayden said. "Under current standings. You should be able to figure everything out from that."

He did so. Numbers 13 and 10 were grouped together with a green box. Numbers 1, 2, 5, 8, &amp; 11 were grouped under a red box. Numbers 4, 6, 9, didn't have a border around them but were written in white. Numbers 3, 7 and 12 were greyed out.

"I see." Alex replied. "So, you're all in a group."

"That's correct." Marco said. "Hayden found us, and brought us all together."

Alex just looked at Hayden. "Your Smashers were Ness and Roy, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason." Alex replied. Through in his mind he was wondering one thing, how did Hayden find the other Chosen Champions? Ness was constantly looking for Lucas. Did Ness and Roy contact the Smashers, and they made this alliance? Regardless, Alex could tell Hayden was dangerous. He wasn't sure of the capabilities of the others, and didn't want to discredit them, but Hayden was the one who sought out the others. And now here was his chance to ally himself with them.

"I'd like to ally with you, however, I'd like to talk this over with Noah, Zoroark, and our Smashers first." Alex said.

"Fair enough." Hayden replied.

"We'll do that now."

Alex, Saki, Isaac, Zoroark, and Noah all stood up, they walked into the guest room where Lucas was currently watching over a sleeping Ness. "Lucas." Alex said. They just explained the situation.

"I guess we're all a team now, so I want your opinions. Do you want to create an alliance?" Alex asked.

"I'd say it seems beneficial for us." Saki said.

"Agreed." Lucas added on.

"Especially since you two are the most at risk. If we team up, the remaining three will have to be extra cautious." Isaac said. "Honestly, I think we get the best part of this deal. Even if Noah has one Smasher, everyone else will think twice before attacking."

"Well, I'll let you decide." Noah said.

Alex nodded. He felt like the pros far outweighed the cons in this situation. If they could no longer attack him, he would only be worrying about the last three members of the Chosen Champions. "There's only one thing that worries me." Alex said. "If there is a way to cheat the system somehow."

"Cheat the system?" Lucas asked.

"It says we're allies, but somehow we're actually not, and while our defenses are down, and thinking we have the protection of the friendly fire barrier, we are stabbed in the back." Alex said.

The five looked at Alex a bit confused. "How do you think they would manage that?" Zoroark asked.

"Think of the same thing I did with Noah, and the multiple 3DS'." Alex replied. "He didn't know that I had multiple 3DS' for all intents and purposes, he thought I was just handing over my actual 3DS. What if someone else had 2 3DS'. We register all five 3DS' presented to us. Would we still all be grouped together, if the majority is on a team?"

There was just silence.

"If they try to do that, there's an easy way to check." Noah said. "Just ask to see their file folder before we register them as friends."

"But anyone can make the file folder on the spare 3DS..."

"But only that special folder has the manual button." Noah pointed out. "Every other folder just has settings and open."

Alex just nodded. "Okay." He said. "So, let's do this."

They walked back out to the living room, and faced the other Chosen Champions. "We'll join." Alex said. "However, I think there might be a chance that Master Hand could disable friendly fire... in the event that that happens, I will fight back. Also, before we exchange friend codes, I want to quickly check something. Can you please take out your 3DS' and put them on the numbered folder. I wish to know each of our numbers."

The numbers was a pointless lie, it really didn't matter since they actually knew each other's names now, but that was the excuse to see if they had any spare 3DS' mixed in. When they confirmed that there wasn't any they all began to exchange friend codes. Alex was keeping an eye on everyone, making sure that no one did any slight of hand tricks, to switch the 3DS's with a spare. But no one did anything, and soon, they had all exchanged friend codes.

They sat there and began to discuss various things about the two worlds crossing over. For the first time Alex didn't feel like he was completely alone in his battles here. He felt like he could rely on the other chosen heroes. They actually began to watch a movie and began to chat like they were old friends.

In the end, it was rather late, and Alex invited them to stay the night. The others agreed. A few just pulled out their cell phones, to quickly call their parents, and said that they were at a friends house.

"All right. I guess, we're all nearly on the same page now. There is one final bit of information I have for you." Alex said, standing up. Everyone just looked at him a bit shocked.

"You still have new info?" Fox said.

"Yeah." Alex said. "I was keeping it close as a card to play, but there's no reason now to hide it. Pit, I have a question for you."

Pit just looked a bit shocked. "Okay?!" He said confused.

"Everyone please follow me." Alex said. "I have something to show you."

They all got up, and began to follow Alex through the house, eventually getting down to the basement. He opened the door, turned on the light, and ushered everyone in. They all looked a bit surprised. Framed Club Nintendo posters lined the walls, and there were cabinets and cabinets of games. There were several TV's, and multiple systems hooked up to each TV. "Welcome to my game room." Alex said.

"What the?" Echo said. "Is all this yours?"

"No." Alex said. "Most of it was given to me by Nugai, when he went into the insane asylum."

Everyone just looked around nervously at the mention of Nugai. "Everyone else in the family just wanted to get rid of it. Since well they thought he went insane playing games."

"And you got it why?" Oren wondered.

Alex just laughed. "He had me written down in his will as the sole benefactor."

They just glanced at him. "Does that even work that way?" Rune wondered.

"Well, I got it." Alex said. "Barely have had any time to play them, so I'm glad they are getting some use."

"Okay, another stupid question." Hayden said.

"Shoot."

"Why five Gamecubes?"

"Well, he wanted to play 4 swords adventures and Crystal Chronicles with four people." Alex replied. "Across five TVs, and thought the 4 GameBoy Advances was too small."

There was silence. They looked in a cupboard and saw 4 GameBoy Advance cables. Everyone went around the room going to various systems and trying to decide what games to play. "Before you start playing, I brought you down here, for another reason." He went over to the computer and turned it on. "Saki and Isaac explained to me that from your world, there are bioengineered super soldiers."

"Yes, Zenith soldiers." Mario replied.

Alex just froze. "What did you just say?"

"Zenith Soldiers." Mario repeated. "They're what we call them, since they're made by a group known as Zenith."

Alex just looked at Saki and Isaac. "Why didn't you ever tell me their names?!" Alex asked.

"Sorry, guess it must of slipped our minds." Saki replied. "We didn't exactly get off on the right foot. But why's that important?"

"There's a local company with the same name." Alex replied.

"Well, a name like Zenith is kind of generic. Especially since it means it's the highest point. I'd be like calling a company Apogee, or Apex." Isaac said. "Besides, there's no proof that they're one in the same."

"True, we'll have to look in to it... Anyways, there was this kid named San from your world. And, he was part of the Zenith soldiers, and had attacked and escaped during the attack on the Smash Mansion. He was killed by another soldier who was sent after him, but not before he gave us some information, mainly who the leader behind the attack at the Smash Mansion was."

Everyone just stared blankly at Alex. He glanced back at his computer monitor, it had now started up and was now displaying the desktop, with the same background picture of Pit fighting against Hades. He just stepped aside so everyone could see it.

"Hades!?" Pit shouted out surprised, pointing at the monitor.

"Indeed, Pitty-pat!" Alex said, doing his best to imitate Hades' voice. Everyone just looked at him strangely. Alex just coughed, slightly embarrassed, and resumed talking in his normal voice. "He told us, that this was the person who was behind the Smash Mansion attack."

"And just who is that?" Falco asked.

"Hades, from Kid Icarus Uprising." Alex replied. "He's the lord of the underworld."

"But how did he come back!?" Pit asked confused. "When Lady Palutena and I battled him, nothing remained of his body. We made sure of it!"

"At the end of the game, his sprit still remained." Alex explained. "I guess he did something to get his body back. Well, that's all the information I've got. I think the best thing that can be done now is just relax and play some games."

They all dispersed around the game room. Alex went to a corner and just pulled out his 3DS, and began to go through the street passes.

"We need a fourth person for Mario Party 2!" Oren shouted. His call was quickly answered.

As Alex was going through the puzzle pieces Zoroark sat down beside him. He was looking at his Master rather concerned, especially since there were several tears going down his face. "Is something wrong, Master?" Zoroark asked.

"Sort of."

"You're not hurting from your battles, are you?" Zoroark asked.

"No, it's not that." Alex replied. "It's more of tears of joy." He couldn't help but smile. "It's just been so long since I had friends over."

"Sorry for eavesdropping, but mind saying why?" Hayden said, sitting down a foot away from Zoroark.

"Oh." Alex laughed. "Well, just... you can probably guess why. My cousin Andrew being 'insane'. pretty much after that incident, no one wanted anything to do with me."

Hayden just nodded. "I can imagine..."

"And then, I guess there was the bullying... and what friends I did have kind of drifted away." Alex replied.

"You know what, you can hang out with me and my friends at school." Hayden said. "I'm sure they won't mind."

Alex just nodded. "Thanks."

"I'm actually skipping out on a party with them for this." Hayden laughed. "Ah well, didn't really want to hang around a bunch of drunk teens that can't hold their shit anyways."

"On that note, I've all ready made an illusion over the house, no matter what the noise, no one will hear it." Zoroark added in.

Alex looked a bit shocked. "Oh. Thanks Zoroark."

For the most part, they just all had fun, switching between all the different games that were available. With so much chaos, Alex, and Zoroark had forgotten what it felt like to sit back and unwind one day.

* * *

_**Bionis:**_

In Alcamoth, Shulk and his party were all resting. Melia was working on getting everything done so she could leave. The current plan was to leave her half-brother Kallian in charge for a year while she went out to fight the mechon. Just with many things involving the High Entia, and politics, it was taking forever. It was probably for the better since it was at least allowing the group some time to calm down and regain their strength and composure after the previous battle. Dunban in particular had been taking it the hardest, for obvious reasons, and had been wandering the city of Alcamoth alone for a while.

Shulk had also just completely broken down afterwards, locking himself in his bedroom in their guest suite. "They're using Homs? What's going on?!" He repeated to himself, before eventually coming to terms that he had to continue onwards, even if they were using Homs, he could at least find out why and stop them.

He had even gone out to talk to Dunban and the two rejoined the rest of the group in the guest suite. They were about to go out when suddenly a guard rushed in. "Homs, I'm sorry for intruding, but we need your help once again." He said.

"Of course, what's the matter?" Shulk asked.

"It's the transporter again. One of them stopped working, so we sent two people to repair it. However when they got there, they were attacked. One was able to get back, and warn us." The guard said. "Can you go and slay the monsters?"

"Of course." Shulk said. "We'll be more than happy to help."

"Thank you." The guard said.

Shulk, Reyn, Dunban, Riki, and Sharla quickly departed. And it wasn't long until they found the monsters walking around a floating reef. However it was unlike anything they had ever seen before.

"What on Bionis are those?" Reyn said.

"Riki don't like them."

They seemed to be made out of the shadows themselves. They had a single giant red eye. Shulk just activated the Monado. They ran towards them, but they quickly soon found out that their weapons didn't actually work on them. Dunban's sword, as soon as it touched, seemed to go right through it, as though the creatures were air.

The only thing that seemed to work on them was the Monado. "Is it just like the Mechon?" Sharla asked, trying to shoot one. However, her ether bullets actually seemed to work.

"It seems like our physical attacks aren't working." Shulk said. "Everyone, let's try this!" He swung the Monado, and everyone was covered with an aura. "Monado Enchant!"

Suddenly their weapons were doing damage against the strange creatures. After several minutes, they had felled all of them. Or so they thought... A giant aquamarine creature appeared, it seemed to have three separate heads, wings that were more like claws, despite that it was able to fly through the air. It landed on the ground and stood on four legs, and had a rather lion like body, and stood at least three times their height. Around it was a shadowy aura.

"A dinobeast?!" Riki shouted out surprised.

"A telethia?" Dunban said shocked.

From the telethia came several more of the strange creatures. Shulk just quickly swung the Monado to try and cut through them. He jumped into the air and swung the Monado at the telethia. "Monado Purge!" He shouted, sending a wave of ether towards the telethia. It hit, and suddenly more of the creatures were forced out of it.

"What's going on?" Reyn said.

"It looks like those creatures had possessed the Telethia." Dunban replied.

"Then we slay them and the Telethia!" Shulk said.

"But can we?" Sharla asked. "It's another Leone Telethia, and we only beat the last one because Melia forced so much ether into it that it exploded."

"We just don't have a choice." Shulk replied. "We can't run away from this battle. There's no telling what damage this Telethia will do, and we're the only ones who can destroy those creatures."

They just nodded and got ready for the battle. Shulk just began to charge forwards, as the Telethia swung it's tail at him. He blocked the attack and cut through the tail, but almost instantly the tail regenerated. Dunban jumped onto the creature cutting off it's antenna, and stabbing it multiple times, however once he got off it just regenerated once again.

"This one is regenerating faster than the last one we fought." Reyn shouted.

"Alvis did say that the other one was wounded." Shulk replied. "But there to be this much of a difference between them regenerating... Any damage we do is just instantly healed."

"Then we just damage it so much that it can't heal!" Dunban shouted. "We just need to kill it one swift strike."

Shulk just nodded. "In that case, we have to try and behead the creature!"

Sharla just stood back and provided cover fire. Any time that the Telethia seemed to reach for one of the other 4 with one of it's heads, she quickly fired an ether bullet at the Telethia with a surprising amount of accuracy. Dunban was able to get up close, he jumped up into the air and swung his sword, cutting the Telethia's throat. However the wound quickly healed.

"This thing has better regeneration than the previous Telethia." Dunban said.

"Just great." Reyn muttered.

"And it doesn't even have that aura that the other Telethia had." Shulk said. He quickly jumped into the air and swung the Monado. "Monado Purge!" He shouted. It hit, and while a few more of the strange creatures came out, it didn't stop the Telethia from regenerating. Shulk just quickly began to look around the environment. The last Leone Telethia they had fought was able to regenerate due to absorbing the nearby ether. But this one didn't appear to be doing that.

They quickly killed the shadow creatures and turned their attention back to the Telethia.

What looked like crystals on the beast's chest began to glow with a yellow aura. This was one of the most dangerous things about a Telethia, it was a frightening ability known as Soul Read, it was now able to read their mind and avoid their every move. Shulk just swung the Monado, doing Monado Purge once again, sending out a wave of ether right at the Telethia. Upon contact the crystals stopped glowing. It was the only way to fight a Telethia.

The Telethia began to thrash around. Swinging it's heads and tail, keeping all of them away. Shulk just rushed forwards, however he was suddenly hit by the tail and sent flying back. Reyn just rushed over to him and helped him up off the ground.

Shulk just looked a bit shocked. "I should have seen that coming... wait... Oh no!"

"Oi, what's wrong Shulk?" Reyn asked.

"I just noticed, but, I haven't had a vision yet during this battle." Shulk replied.

"You haven't had a vision?"

"Right, as bad as this battle is going, I still haven't had a vision." Shulk replied. "Maybe this strange creature that we're fighting, is somehow able to impact my visions?"

"I hope not." Reyn said. "Especially since your visions have saved our skin so many times before."

Shulk just looked at the sword. "_Was Dunban right? Have I been relying on the Monado's power, and using it as a crutch this whole time?_" He jumped to avoid a sudden bolt of electricity from the Telethia. "_No, it's been our only option. The only way of constantly hurting the Mechon..._"

Shulk began to rush forwards to the Telethia, weaving from side to side to avoid constant attacks from it. Suddenly from the Telethia the shadow creatures tentacles began to shoot out. Shulk just swung the Monado in front of him to cut through the tentacles. As soon as he cut through them, they dissolved.

Shulk rushed forwards, getting closer to the Leone Telethia, however it began to spin around, hitting it's tail against the sword. This actually caused the Monado to be knocked out of his hands. Suddenly several of the dark creatures began to try and go into the Monado, but they were quickly repelled.

"Those creatures can't touch the Monado!" Dunban shouted surprised.

Shulk rushed forwards and grabbed the sword and quickly cut through all of the shadow creatures, and just recalled some words from Alvis. "_The Monado is a divine sword capable of disturbing the very fabric of existence. Of both the material and the immaterial._"

"It seems like the Monado can do more than just reject Homs." Reyn laughed. "Guess that's a lucky break for us."

"Yeah." Shulk said. They rushed towards the Telethia. It now seemed that the shadow creatures were mostly gone. Occasionally one or two came out of the Leone Telethia, however they were quickly eliminated. And with the decrease of the shadow creatures, the Telethia's regeneration seemed much slower.

Dunban jumped up and beheaded on of the Telethia's heads. Shulk also followed suit, "Monado Buster!" He shouted as he cut through the other two. The creature fell over dead, but Shulk just stood there, he was gasping for air, and beginning to catch his breath, he just kept the Monado activated, waiting for another wave of those shadow creatures to appear. After several moments it was quite clear that they had vanished, Shulk finally deactivated the Monado. He began to stagger forwards, however Reyn just quickly caught him.

"You need some water?" Reyn asked, holding a canister.

Shulk just nodded. "Yeah, that would be good." He said. He just opened it and drank some of the water. After a few minutes of rest, so everyone could recover, they set back towards Alcamoth.

As they began to walk away, Shulk just quickly glanced behind him at where their enemy had been. "That creature wasn't native to the Bionis, and I don't think we've seen the last of it..." He muttered. "Just what are they? Another Mechon weapon?"

* * *

_**Earth:**_

Much later, very early in the morning, Ness awoke in the unfamiliar bed. He just looked around the room, a bit shocked and confused at his new surroundings. He didn't remember falling asleep here, but slowly the memory, and what happened just before he had fallen asleep came back to him. He just froze. "It might of been a hallucination." He muttered to himself. "From stress." He looked around, the room, seeing no trace of Lucas. "Yeah that's it..."

The door suddenly opened, and walking in was someone he wasn't expecting to see. Standing there was Lucas, in his hand was a plate of pizza.

"Lucas?" Ness said shocked. He began to piece everything back together and was rather overjoyed that it was in fact real.

"Yep." Lucas replied with a smile on his face. He just walked over and sat down on a chair right beside the bed.

"It wasn't a dream... I actually found you." Ness said. He just looked at the other psychic. Ness' stomach just began to growl, and Lucas handed over the plate of pizza.

"Here, you can have this. Since you had put down your food to tackle me..." Lucas laughed, as he handed over the plate of pizza.

"Are you sure?" Ness asked.

"I can go out and get another, I at least know where everything is. It's no problem." Lucas replied.

Ness just smiled. "Thanks."

"Just promise me you won't tackle me again." Lucas said. "That really hurt."

"Of course." Ness replied.

Lucas just quickly left and a few minutes later returned with another plate of pizza. The two friends just sat and ate in silence. When they were done, Lucas just took the plates away and then once again returned to the room.

"So..." Ness said.

"So what?" Lucas asked.

"What all has happened to you?" Ness said. "It's been two weeks since we last saw each other, and well, I want to know what all happened!"

"Nothing really." Lucas replied. "I was mostly bored to death, and stayed in a cave most of the time."

Ness just looked at his friend rather surprised. "And what about the person that Master Hand has charged us all with eliminating?"

"Alex?" Lucas said confused. "I don't know why. He's nice. He let Noah live here after everything that happened. He let me stay here too. I've only been here a few days, but he's been more than welcoming."

Ness just nodded. "That's good. And he hasn't tried to hurt you or anything?"

"No." Lucas said a bit shocked.

"Good, I just wanted to make sure that my best friend was safe and being treated well." Ness smiled.

Lucas just nodded. "Yeah."

"So, where is everyone else?" Ness asked.

"They went downstairs and are now sleeping." Lucas replied. "For the chosen champions, it kind of turned into a giant sleep over."

Ness just laughed. "Is that so." He glanced at a nearby clock and saw that it was about 4 in the morning. "I slept that long, huh..."

"You really were exhausted. Roy said you were always looking for me..." Lucas said.

Ness' face suddenly went red with embarrassment. "Yeah... You got some sleep too, right?" He asked.

Lucas just nodded. "Yeah." he motioned towards a second bed that had the covers messed up. "Just kind of woke up, and was hungry since I didn't actually get any food for dinner..."

"Sorry about that." Ness apologized. There was a few minutes of silence, the two of them were now wide awake, and there was no chance that they would fall back asleep any time soon. Neither of them didn't exactly know what to do.

"Here, come on." Lucas said, stretching out his hand. "I'll give you a tour of the house."

Ness just nodded, and took Lucas' hand, and was pulled off of the bed. He quickly found that he was really cold, so Lucas just let him take one of the big heavy covers off of the bed and draped it over his shoulders. Lucas began to show everything he could. The two of them eventually found themselves out on the deck, leaning on the railing and looking up at the starry sky. "It reminds me of back at the Smash Mansion." Ness said.

Lucas just nodded.

"Lucas, I have a question..." Ness said, he glanced over at Lucas who was shivering a bit from the cold night. He just sighed and got a bit closer to his friend. "Guess you shouldn't have come out here in just a t-shirt and shorts."

Lucas nodded. "Yeah." he said.

Ness just created a plume of PK fire in one hand, and pulled Lucas closer with his other, so that he was underneath the blanket too. "Here, we'll at least be warmer this way." Ness said.

Lucas just nodded, reaching for the PK Fire, it was so warm. "So, what did you want to ask me?" Lucas asked.

"Why did you never tell us about your brother?" Ness said. Lucas looked a bit shocked, but to be honest he expected this question to eventually come up.

"Oh," Lucas replied.

"Oh?" Ness said a bit confused, at how nonchalant his reaction was.

"Well, to be honest, I don't even know if he's dead..." Lucas replied. "He ran away, and well, I never saw him again. No one had ever found a body. He could still be alive out there somewhere and maybe I'll find him."

Ness just nodded. "If he's still alive, I'm sure you'll find him."

"Thanks Ness." Lucas said.

"So, what's your chosen champion like?" Ness wondered.

Lucas looked at Ness a bit shocked. "Um, well..." He wasn't expecting this question. "He's a nice guy, who unfortunately had a lot of problems with life, and it all came crashing down on him. Yours?"

"To be honest, I haven't really spent a lot of time with Hayden." Ness said. "I was always looking for you. Roy did the majority of the interactions. He didn't seem worried that he only had one Smasher guarding him most of the time. I guess he's pretty cool though." A gust of wind just rushed towards them. "How did you meet up with your chosen champion, you weren't assigned."

"Well, we met in that cave." Lucas laughed. "It's kind of funny looking back at it now. Both of us had no idea who the other was, but we became friends and well when someone tried to eliminate him because he didn't have his Smashers, I jumped in and protected him."

Ness just smiled. "That's such a thing you would do."

They suddenly heard the door open behind them. The two turned around to see Alex standing there. "Oh, it's just you two." He yawned, walking over to the edge of the deck. He just leaned on the railing, and looked up towards the stars. "I was hearing voices and was afraid it was one of the other chosen champions coming to attack."

"You couldn't sleep?" Ness asked confused.

"Nah, woke up and had to go to the washroom." Alex replied. "Heard voices, went to investigate. I'm guessing you just woke up?"

Ness just nodded.

"I wouldn't stay out here for too long." Alex said. "You were burning up, and you need your rest. Okay?"

Ness just nodded. "We'll go in soon." Ness said. "Lucas was just showing me around your house."

"Ah." Alex said. "Well then, see you in the morning."

And with that Alex went inside. Ness and Lucas just stayed there for several minutes until deciding to go back into the house. They got back to the guest bedroom and just sat on their respective beds.

"Ness, thank you." Lucas said.

"For what?" Ness asked.

"For looking for me." Lucas replied. "I realized after I had run away that I really didn't want to leave the Smashers. I never want to leave them. You guys are my family now. And I remember now that families have to face adversity together."

Ness just smiled. "Thanks Luke."

"For what?" Lucas asked.

"For coming back." Ness replied. "You're like a brother to me, and the kid Smashers that I feel like I'm the closest with. There's others like Popo who have been around longer, but I feel that since we're both psychics, I have a lot more in common with you than the others."

Lucas just nodded.

"When this is all over," Ness said. "When we've won and the worlds are safe, let's go out together and find your brother."

Lucas just looked up at Ness rather shocked. "What?!" He said. "But he might not even be..."

"I'm sure he is!" Ness replied, cutting Lucas off. "He's your brother after all, and you're strong. He must be too. And since you're twins he's also bound to have psionics that would have helped him fight wherever he is."

Lucas just nodded, looking at his best friend. "You're right!"

* * *

When Alex awoke, he had made it back to the corner of the room. His 3DS had long lost power, and was lying on the ground. Everyone else was lying throughout the room. A nearby digital clock said that it was 6 AM. And, only Hayden was currently up. He was currently playing a game of Super Smash Bros, on the Nintendo 64.

"Hey." he said.

Alex just made his way over to him. "I'm guessing you just got up?"

"Yeah." Hayden replied. "I'm surprised you fell asleep so quickly. No idea how you could do that through all of that racket."

Alex just laughed. He placed his 3DS in the charging station and just picked up an N64 controller. "It's a secret." he replied.

Hayden laughed. "Oh well, whatever."

They began playing a game. Hayden was Ness, while Alex was Pikachu. They were fighting at Saffron City with 3 stock.

The match was over quickly. Hayden clearly had a lot more experience at the game than Alex and beat him. Alex just laughed. Even if he lost, it felt good. It was nice not having his life on the line for once, and just being able to enjoy a friendly game.

"Well." Hayden said. "Want to move on to Melee?"

"Not really." Alex laughed. "I'm going to try and make some breakfast for us."

"Sounds nice." Hayden replied. "Hey, look, I have a question."

"Shoot."

"With all of these games here, what's your favorite?"

Alex just laughed, it wasn't really a question for him. "Xenoblade Chronicles."

"May I ask why?" Hayden wondered.

Alex just paused. He thought about it for several minutes. "You know, I guess, it's because it's a really feel good game. Even in the bleakest situations there is always hope. Shulk isn't an idiot and doing stupid stuff that you're screaming at the TV for them to not do. Not to mention the big grand scale. Exploring the Bionis, there's always something new to find."

Hayden just nodded. "That's first party Nintendo right?"

"Yeah." Alex replied.

"Think he will be in Smash?" Hayden wondered.

"I really hope so."

"And, what's your favorite game?"

"You're putting me on the spot." Hayden laughed.

"You did the same to me."

"Fine, fine." Hayden laughed. "My answer is probably a little boring. There's no deep thought to it. I just remember playing a lot of it when I was younger."

"And that is?" Alex wondered.

"Banjo-Kazooie." Hayden replied.

Alex just glanced at him for several seconds. "That's a bit strange of a choice..." Alex said.

"Why? What do you mean?" Hayden wondered.

"Well, you're my age right, 17, 18?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, 17." Hayden replied.

"It's just, that game came out in, what? 1998? We were 1 or 2 years old." Alex replied.

"Ah, that." Hayden laughed. "I had an older brother, that got the N64. And then, well my parents didn't really waste money on new systems and you could get games for the N64 really cheap, and we really didn't upgrade to a new system until about 2004 or so. But even then, I always went back to play it. I guess there was just something about the world, and cartoon animals that must have been captivating to me."

"British humor that went over your head until you were older?"

"Maybe that too." Hayden laughed. "Okay, time for the second question."

"What are we playing 20 questions now?" Alex laughed.

"Sure, why not." Hayden replied. "Only you're not responding with 'yes' or 'no'."

"I thought we all voted against the ice breakers..." Alex sighed.

"Fine, this will be the last question." Hayden sighed. "What's your least favorite game?"

Alex just clenched his fist and pounded it against the ground. "Should of seen that one coming a mile away." He muttered. "We're doing this 20 questions style, you have to guess it."

Hayden just looked a bit shocked. "Why?"

"That's question one, because I don't like it." Alex replied.

"Fine, if that's the way you want to do it." Hayden sighed. "Is there a copy of it in this room?"

"Question 2: Yes." Alex said.

Hayden just laughed. "Well, we can continue this later."

"Only under the condition that you don't go through every single game here to try and find the ones that are crap, or I might have a reason for calling it my least favorite game."

"Fine, fine." Hayden laughed, shaking his hands in front of him defensively. "You took away my plan."

"Well, it was incredibly obvious, and it would make the game really easy." Alex replied. "Now then, to make sure that you don't cheat, you're coming up to the kitchen to help me make breakfast."

"Okay." Hayden said.

Alex just stood up, and walked over to a couple 3DS' that were on display. He grabbed a Pikachu 3DS, checked what game was in it, and put it in his pocket. The two walked up to the kitchen. "So, what's for breakfast?" Hayden wondered.

"I was thinking pancakes." Alex replied. "That should be easy enough to make for a large amount of people. And it allows for variety since everyone can have them the way they want them, and with what toppings they prefer."

Alex gathered a giant bowl, and a bunch of dry ingredients, while Hayden got eggs and milk from the fridge. As they began to make the batter, and cook the pancakes, they continued the game of 20 questions.

"Okay, question 3: Is it an exclusive."

"Yes." Alex replied.

"Question 4: First party or third party?"

"Yes." Alex replied.

"You're supposed to say..."

"I'm only answering in yes or no." Alex replied. "That was your fourth question."

Hayden just laughed. "Okay, fine." he paused for several seconds, recounting what he had so far as his clues. "Question 5: is it on a Sony platform."

"No."

"Question 6: Is it on a Nintendo platform?"

"Yes."

"Okay, an exclusive on a Nintendo platform..." Hayden muttered. "Question 7: Is it on the NES?"

"No." Alex replied.

Hayden suddenly had a rather big smile across his face. Alex just let off a heavy sigh. He feared that Hayden pretty much all ready knew.

"Question 8: On the SNES?"

"No." Alex replied.

"Question 9: On the Wii?"

"Yes." Alex said.

"Question 10: Is it shovelware?"

Alex paused for a moment. "Can you describe your definition of shovelware?"

Hayden was actually a bit shocked by that. "Um, well crap that's thrown together just to make a quick buck with no actual concern about the quality." Hayden replied.

"In that case. No." Alex replied.

"It's Metroid: Other M, isn't it?" Hayden asked.

"Yeah." Alex replied.

"Can I ask why?" Hayden asked.

Alex just glanced at him. "Here is this creature that imprinted on me that I just donated to science to have horrific experiments done upon it for the betterment of galactic society. Oh wait, suddenly I care about it now."

"That's all?" Hayden wondered.

"Oh no, that's only the tip of the iceberg." Alex replied. "That was just the very first thing. If you're interested, I can give you a list or something later. I've actually got one on the computer, I'll email it to you or something."

Hayden just nodded, and they returned to making the pancakes. Soon they were done, and they just quickly gathered a bunch of different things that people may put on top of their pancakes, from sugar and lemon juice, to some fruits, to even the traditional maple syrup. They just quickly went downstairs to see everyone else having woken up. "We've got food upstairs." Alex said. Everyone just made their way up, and began to eat the pancakes. Very few words were actually said during the meal. And then, rather surprisingly they finished off all of the pancakes.

With nothing else to say or do, everyone was getting up to leave. "Well, we'll see you latter." Oren said.

"Yeah." Alex said.

"We really can't just leave you with just all the dishes and the mess that we had made." Hayden said. "Come on, we've got to at least help you clean up."

"But you're my guests." Alex said. "I really think you should leave."

"No, Hayden is right." Rune said.

"Yeah... We really should help you clean up." Echo said.

Alex just sighed. "Fine. If that's the way you feel about it..."

They all cleaned up the house. Ten minutes later they all had finished. Alex just looked over the place, it really looked spotless. "You still don't trust us, do you?" Hayden wondered.

"It's hard to trust." Alex said. "With Master Hand sending people to attack, you know."

Hayden just nodded. "I understand why you're suspicious. But, you will eventually have to learn to trust people, don't you think."

"Yeah..." Alex said. Suddenly they both had a pain shoot through their heads. The next thing that they knew was that they were all floating on that tower.

All of the chosen champions were there along with the Smashers. This time there was nothing obscuring them, not to mention all of their Smashers were floating there behind them. Strangely, this included Zoroark.

"What's going on?" Zoroark asked. He looked down at Alex. "Master?"

"This is that dreamscape right..." Alex said. "I've been here before in my dreams... But this is the first time I've seen any Smashers in here."

"Same." Hayden said. "Not to mention your Zoroark is here, if it was just the Smashers it would just be Saki and Isaac for you."

Alex looked over to Noah, just Lucas was right there behind him. Their eyes all turned to Master Hand who was just floating in the center platform as usual.

"Something has come up." He said. "And for that, I'm going to do an emergency mission that you're all going to take part in."

Everyone just looked at the hand in shock. "An emergency mission?" Oren asked.

Master Hand just floated there. "Yes..." He said. "I wished that it wouldn't come to this but unfortunately, some worlds haven't been faring as well as others, and have begun to merge... the results aren't pleasant."

"Well, show us the world." Someone said, it was the voice of girl. Alex glanced and saw that she was in the number 9 spot.

"Very well then..." Master Hand said. He snapped his fingers and suddenly a hologram appeared. Much to everyone's shock it wasn't a spherical world. But rather two giant titans.

"What's that?" Noah asked. "The monsters we have to fight?"

"No, that is the world." Alex said, actually rather excited. Everyone looked at him. "Bionis, and Mechonis. Two sleeping giants that have people living on them, surrounded by an endless sea. It's from Xenoblade Chronicles."

"That's correct." Master Hand said. "But, that's only about half of the situation. These creatures aren't from this world."

Several shadowy five legged creatures, with a giant glowing orb for an eye appeared.

"The Ing?" Alex said confused.

"Correct again. They have shown up somehow on Bionis and Mechonis. And then, there is one other major change that we've been able to see as well..." Master Hand said. "This appeared on sword valley." It was a rather large facility that appeared to be in the center of the Mechonis' sword. It had a rather distinct shape, that kind of looked like a bottle.

"NO!" Alex shouted outraged. "No, no, no, this isn't happening!"

Everyone just looked at him.

"What is that?" Noah asked confused.

"The bottleship. From that game..." Alex cringed. "Please no... I hope this doesn't mean what I think it means..."

"Unfortunately... Yes..."

"Why... My favorite game and my least favorite game fusing together in some unholy matrimony." Alex just cried.

"You liked Other..."

"No Xenoblade is my favorite game!" Alex snapped. "Don't even suggest that I like Other M... Not even as a joke!" Master Hand was doing his best to hold back his laughter. He was however failing miserably. "What's so funny, Hand?" Alex said annoyed. He was just glaring at the Hand with such intensity that Master Hand began to shake.

"So, you do have a really embarrassing weakness after all. I mean... Nothing." Master Hand said. "This isn't a laughing matter. We have to act quickly, there is no telling how these changes will affect the world. However, despite what I said earlier, that all of you will participate, of the ten of you, I can only send in three of you chosen champions. The remaining seven will remain back here as mission control. So I want you to choose the three of you that will be going. It will be you and your Smashers."

The Chosen Champions were a bit taken back by this. "Talk amongst yourselves to decide."

All of the Chosen Champions walked towards the centre. Alex also followed suit. For the first time he got a good look at the remaining three chosen champions. They were actually all women. "I'm Lily," one said.

"And I'm Grace."

"I'm Chloe." The last one said.

The others introduced themselves.

"I'm Alex." Alex finished. "So, I guess we now have to figure out who's going."

"I think it's obvious." Lily said. "You should be one of the three. You seemed to be the most knowledgeable about the universes and games involved."

Alex just blinked in shock.

"Yeah. I agree." Hayden said. "So, that's one of us, who should be the other two?"

"How about you do it like this." Oren suggested. "Since Alex actually knows what we're facing, he will choose the others based upon the Smashers that he thinks will fill the roles required."

Alex looked a bit shocked. "Well, when you put it like that, it's kind of difficult." He admitted. "The Mechon, can't be hurt by normal weapons."

"Mechon?"

"Basically robots." Alex explained. "Then there is the Ing... I'd personally want Samus because of everything involved. The Ing, the Bottleship."

"Samus however isn't registered as any of our Smashers." Echo pointed out.

"Master Hand." Alex shouted.

"Yes?" Master Hand said.

"If we wanted Samus to come along, however since she isn't registered as one of our Smashers. Could she be registered as Noah's second Smasher temporarily?" Alex asked.

"Yes, that is a possibility." Master Hand said. "Anyone who doesn't have a second Smasher could easily get one of the remaining Smashers as a temporary team mate."

"We'll go with that then." Alex said.

"So who are the other Chosen Champions you'll take?" Chloe wondered.

Alex just thought about it for a few minutes. "Noah, and Hayden. You two will be the ones I'll take with me."

"Okay." Noah said.

Hayden just nodded in agreement.

"Why them?"

"I don't think it really matters who I bring with me. Noah, I'm assuming is the only person without a second Smasher, and Hayden besides Noah is the one I trust enough.." Alex said.

"That's fair enough."

"Master Hand." Alex said. "Can I make a suggestion."

Everyone stopped and just stared at Alex. "And what would that suggestion be?"

"For this mission, can we leave our 3DS' behind." Alex said.

Everyone just froze and looked at Alex like he was crazy. "What? Why would we want to do that?"

"I'm just thinking that the Ing have in the past shown the ability to adapt to new technology." Alex said. "And I'd rather not have the 3DS' destroyed when trying to kill an Ing. Or make them immune to our attacks, because we're allies, and they could abuse that system."

"You realize that you would be placing your 3DS under my direct protection then." Master Hand said. "I would be able to eliminate you at any second I pleased. Not to mention the Chosen Champions who were left behind could easily do it."

Alex just looked at the Hand. "But you won't." Alex said.

"And why not?" Master Hand asked.

"Because no one else has suggested it. No one else has thought of our enemies using that weakness that we have against us." Alex said. "Besides, Hand, you wouldn't violate the rules of your own game would you?"

"What?"

"That the Chosen Champions should be the ones to destroy the 3DS' of the others." Alex said.

Master Hand just sighed. "Very well. Now, then, it's time to bring you all to the Smash Mansion." Master Hand snapped his fingers, and suddenly they were all transported into the foyer of the Smash Mansion. Everyone just looked around rather surprised. Master Hand was just floating at the top of a staircase. "Hayden, Noah, and Alex please follow me then. Bring your Smashers, I shall contact Samus, and she will meet you there later. Everyone else, your Smashers will show you around the mansion, and answer any questions you may have. It will at least be a few hours until these three will depart."

Alex, Noah, and Hayden, along with their Smashers, all climbed up the stairs and began to follow Master Hand through the winding hallways of the mansion. "Wow, you could get lost in here..." Alex said.

"Eh, not really." Ness replied. "Trust me, you get used to it rather quickly."

"Well, we all can't teleport like you Ness." Lucas added on.

They got to a rather dark looking hallway, and Master Hand floated down it. "Welcome to our weapons, research and development division in the mansion." Master Hand said. They got to a giant metal door. Master Hand just placed his glove against it, and suddenly it began to light up. The door began to open up, and Master Hand ushered the three Chosen Champions, along with their Smashers inside.

In front of them floating above three pedestals were three items. They were all gloves. However they suddenly transformed. One transformed into an Arm Cannon. The next was holding a sword, while the third just remained as gloves. "Beyond the powers that you have received from the 3DS, there are also these. Weapons to protect you and fight on the front lines along with the Smashers. Please take one."

They all glanced at each other. "How should we go about choosing who goes first?" Noah asked.

"I'd say youngest first." Alex said.

"That's fine with me." Hayden said.

"Okay." Noah said. He reached for the arm cannon. He turned around to face Hayden and Alex. "So who's next?"

"That really wasn't necessary." Master Hand sighed. "You will be able to switch between all three forms freely."

"Why didn't you say that first?" Noah asked annoyed.

Master Hand just floated there. "I thought it was obvious... Never mind..."

Alex and Hayden took the other two gloves and just tested them out for a few seconds. "Gunman, Brawler, and Swordfighter." Master Hand said. "These will empower you with some move sets, and powers. Next, some armor."

Master Hand snapped his fingers. In front of them appeared three briefcases. "Put on the suits that are inside." They opened them and inside was what appeared to be three single pieces of clothes that looked a bit like a wetsuit. "You are just normal humans. So to protect you, and help you fight, you're going to wear these suits. Put them on. It's also probably better if you don't have a shirt or pants on underneath it."

"Boxers too?" Hayden said a bit worried.

"No, you can leave those on." Master Hand said. "Now get to it."

All three of them just froze. It was quite clear that none of them were quite ready to start changing out of their clothes in front of each other. "Zoroark, can you make a giant dark cloud or something to separate all of us." Alex said.

"Of course." Zoroark said. They were all surrounded by darkness and a few minutes later they were in the wetsuits. However they appeared to be extremely big and loose on them.

"On the wrists, there should be a button. Press that." Master Hand said. They all found the button and suddenly the suit began to shrink until it fit. They moved around it in for several seconds.

"Strange, it looks like it's tight and that it would be restricting." Alex said.

"These stimulate your muscles, and allow you to do feats that normally wouldn't be possible." Master Hand said. "Also, put these on."

What looked like three bluetooth earpieces floated in front of them. They just all took them and put them in their ear. Immediately they disappeared. "What happened?" Noah asked.

"Just the cloaking has been activated on them." Master Hand said. "Those of us back here will be watching over you and staying in constant communication..."

"I see." Alex sighed. "Okay... So we've got some mission control then. I guess that's fine."

"I'd actually be more worried if there wasn't any mission control." Hayden laughed. "Okay, so what's next?"

Master Hand just floated there. "I guess you three and your Smashers will be going to Bionis and Mechonis, and trying to stop everything from crossing over."

"Before we go, I have a question." Alex said. "Is there a reason why it's these games?"

"I do not know." Master Hand replied. "I really honestly don't know. We're as in the dark as you are with them. This pretty much just happened too. And it's the first time anything like this has happened, so we don't know."

"I see... It's only a hypothesis on my end, but at least with Xenoblade and Metroid Other M, there are strong emotions connected to them." Alex said. "Nugai believed that the worlds influenced each other. That people learned of the other world, and made art to imitate life. Books, or video games were created because of people seeing into the other world. But we could also influence them."

There was silence. "Okay, and what else?" Master Hand asked.

"What if the worlds that were crossing over, was chosen by us." Alex said. "Our emotions for these two worlds. Have you heard of Operation Rainfall?"

"No." Master Hand said.

"There was a time when three games didn't look like they were coming over to North America." Alex explained.

"Pandora's Tower, The Last Story, and Xenoblade Chronicles." Hayden said.

"Right. Despite these three games being released elsewhere in the world, in English, Nintendo of America allegedly had no interest in bringing them over." Alex explained. "People were livid, and made the fan petition known as Operation Rainfall. Whether or not it worked is irrelevant, but people wanted Xenoblade."

"But if your hypothesis is correct what about the other two games, and why is it Metroid Prime 2 Echoes and Metroid Other M coming over instead of them?" Hayden asked.

"It's probably a bit cynical for me to say, but I always got the feeling that the main point of the campaign was mostly for Xenoblade." Alex said. "The Last Story people wanted too, but if I'm remembering correctly Pandora's Tower was just added on to make it 3 games. The attachment to the other two weren't as big."

"So, how does that explain Other M?" Hayden wondered.

"That game is perhaps one of the most despised. Countless essays, rants, and videos have appeared on the internet." Alex said. "Perhaps it's not so much of people wanting it, but discussing it..."

"And then how does that factor in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes?" Hayden wondered.

"That's the weird part to me." Alex admitted. "It's not the most wanted, or the most hated game. It's not really discussed."

"Well, maybe an answer will appear later." Master Hand said. "In the mean time, you should go with your Smashers and they will give you a tour of the mansion. After that, you have two hours until we have the machine ready to transport you. You can do what you want until then."

They were all dismissed, and made their way back to the foyer.

"Well, this is the Smash Mansion." Saki said. "Do you want a tour?"

Alex just sighed. "I think I'll pass. I think I'm just going to look around at my own pace."

"Okay then." Saki said. "I'm actually going to go see my wife and kid."

Alex just nodded. "I'm going to follow Saki's lead and see my family too." Isaac said. "Don't worry, I'll be back here in time. I'll probably have to drag Saki back..."

"Okay, see you guys later." Alex said. Saki and Isaac just quickly made their way outside.

"We really actually should give you the tour." Roy sighed, it was quite clear that he didn't want to do it. "There are things that you need to know, and places that you'll need to see since you will most likely be staying here when this whole trying to eliminate you thing ends."

"If you just show me where the washrooms are, the kitchen, and where we will be sleeping, I can figure everything else by myself." Alex said.

"Okay, that I can do." Roy replied.

"Good luck!" Ness said, giving Roy a reassuring pat on the back. "Lucas and I are going elsewhere." And just like that Ness dragged Lucas away.

Roy just let off a heavy sigh. "Figured he would do something like that." He eventually said, "all right, follow me, I'll show you the way to your rooms."

* * *

Ness was dragging Lucas throughout the Smash mansion, not even giving the young blonde the chance to actually say anything or fight back. Eventually they got to a door. They could hear several voices from behind it. Suddenly Lucas froze, and hid behind Ness.

"Come on, Luke. There's no need to be afraid." Ness said.

Lucas just shook his head.

"Come on, you'll be fine." Ness said. He just knocked on the door, and it slowly opened, inside was Red, Toon Link, Nana, and Popo. "Just wait out here for a few seconds."

"Hey!" Ness said, walking into the room.

They all looked at Ness in shock. "We heard that everyone had to be called back for an emergency mission." Nana said.

Ness just nodded. "Yeah." He said. "I'll be departing once again in 2 hours. So, I just wanted to drop in to say hello."

"Is that all?" Toon Link said rather annoyed. "Come on, we all know you wouldn't just 'drop in to say hello.' you'd just try and join us, and act like you were never gone."

Ness just nervously laughed. "Well, guys, I promised that I'd bring someone back... So, you can come in."

Lucas entered the doorway. Everyone just stared at him in a bit of shock. "Lucas?!" They all said. They just ran up to Lucas. Lucas misinterpreted it, and thought that they were going to hurt him and began to run. However, Toon Link quickly tackled him to the ground, followed by the other kid Smashers dog piling on top of him.

"Lucas, you're back!"

"Don't ever do that again!"

"You idiot!"

"Guys..." Ness sighed, looking over the pile of bodies. "I think you're crushing him."

They just all began to get off of Lucas, and helped him up. They just laughed, like nothing had actually happened.

"So, Ness. While you were gone on your mission the next issue of Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. came out." Popo said. "Hope you don't mind that we read through it all ready."

Ness just laughed. "No, of course not, as long as it's in one piece though, and you didn't do anything to ruin it. Like spilling something on it. Then there might be hell to pay."

"No of course not." Popo replied. "Besides, you know we'd buy you a new copy if something like that happened."

Ness just nodded. "Before the mission, I'd kind of like to read it." Ness laughed.

Red just went over to his bed, and pulled out the comic. It had the cardboard backing, and the plastic warp around it. He just handed it over to Ness, who went to a chair in a corner to read. Lucas on the other hand was constantly being grilled by the other Smashers about what had happened, how was the other world.

"Ness!" Lucas cried out. "Help me."

Lucas' cries however fell on deaf ears. Ness was just reading through the comic. Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. was about a strike force known as "S.T.E.A.M." which was short for "Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace." It showed a steam punk world, a world that had evolved around steam technology, and one day their planet was under attack from aliens, who seemed to be from an ice world. It had quickly become a favorite comic amongst the young kid Smashers.

Lucas had eventually given up his cries for help.

"Oh wow!" Ness said, putting down the comic. "I can't wait for next months issue!"

Red, Toon Link, and Popo just had big smiles across their faces. "I know right!" Toon Link said.

It had ended on a giant cliff hanger. They had been surrounded by aliens, and when it looked like all hope was lost, a mysterious masked swordsman, claiming to be from the future appeared. The swordsman was able to cut through each of the aliens and told the members of S.T.E.A.M. that the future he came from, the aliens had conquered earth. They had a hidden super weapon, and used it, freezing the majority of the earth, and rendering their steam based weapons next to useless, the only way to fight was with a sword, and reviving ancient magic. But perhaps the most shocking news that the swordsman had to deliver was that a member of S.T.E.A.M. was going to kill their leader, Lincoln.

Ness just handed the comic over to Lucas, and he began to read. As for Ness, Red, Toon Link and Popo, they just began to discuss it. Lucas soon jumped in after he had finished the comic.

"So, who do you think the traitor is?" Lucas asked.

They just all looked up, each with their own theories. It really was like neither of them were gone at all.

* * *

Saki just opened the apartment door. His wife, Airan looked at him shock. "Saki!" She said rushing over and hugging him. "You're back all ready?"

"Sort of." Saki sighed. "Master Hand called us back for an emergency, and we have 2 hours before we have to go back. I just wanted to spend it with you two."

* * *

"And here's your room." Roy said. They were in a hallway with a bunch of rooms. For some rooms there was an emblem. For others there was a photo of who was supposed to be in the room. Alex just found a door with a photo of him on it. He opened it up and walked inside.

It was a lot smaller than what he thought it would be. It was much smaller than a hotel room, probably only about the size of a student's room in a college dorm. The room had a single bed, a desk, a closet, a dresser for clothes, and then a washroom.

"Well, thanks Roy." Alex said as he came out of the room after inspecting it.

"Yeah, no problem." Roy replied. "Well, you can explore the rest of the mansion by yourself. I imagine someone will come to find you when it's time to start the mission."

"Thanks." Hayden said.

Roy walked away, and Alex just faced Noah and Hayden. "I'm going to just wander around." Alex said. The two others just nodded. They all went their separate ways. Only Zoroark followed Alex.

"We're finally here at the Smash Mansion." Zoroark said.

Alex just nodded. "Yeah." He said. "I can't believe it. After hearing so much about it from Nugai, we get to see it for ourselves."

The two just began to walk through the mansion, occasionally passing by another Smasher. They introduced themselves, and were on their way. However, they soon came across Lucario, who after looking at them, suddenly began to bare his fangs.

"Who are you?!" Lucario growled.

"Oh, well, I'm Alex, and this is Zoroark." Alex said. Zoroark just quickly shed his illusion revealing his pokemon form to Lucario. But that did little to quell Lucario, who just continued to look like he was about to pounce. "Z, something tells me that wasn't the answer he wanted." Alex and Zoroark just prepared themselves for a fight.

The three of them just stood perfectly still, watching for the other to make a move, and act accordingly. Zoroark couldn't even put up any illusions due to Lucario's aura abilities and he would instantly be able to see right through them.

Lucario then pounced. Alex and Zoroark quickly rushed forwards. Lucario quickly made a bone club out of aura, and swung it. Alex blocked the attack with a shield of aura, and Zoroark tackled Lucario, pushing him away.

Lucario quickly recovered and began to charge up an aura sphere. Alex followed suit and charged up his own aura sphere. "Look I don't want to fight, I don't know why you're attacking us. I'm Nugai's proxy, and we're here for an emergency mission."

"Your aura... What's wrong with it?!" Lucario growled.

"What's wrong with my aura?" Alex said confused.

Lucario just charged forwards. However suddenly there was a barrier around Alex, that Lucario hit, and was sent flying back.

"Hey, Lucario." A voice suddenly said, it was from a woman and it was clear that she held authority. "You are not supposed to attack them."

Alex just turned around, standing behind him was Princess Zelda. "Master Hand has brought the Chosen Champions here."

"I know that." Lucario growled.

"And yet you still attacked him." Zelda replied. Lucario didn't reply. He just continued to glare at Alex, and bare his fangs.

"Thank you, Princess Zelda." Alex said. "My name's Alex, and that's Zoroark... We don't want to fight."

"Go, I'll keep an eye on Lucario." Zelda replied.

"Thank you." Alex said, bowing and walking away. Zoroark quickly followed. They made their way past the corner and just stopped to try and hear if they were going to talk.

"Lucario." Zelda said. "Why did you attack him?"

"His aura is unnatural." Lucario replied.

The conversation stopped. Alex just peered over the corner, however both Zelda and Lucario had vanished, he assumed they had been teleported away.

"My aura is unnatural?" Alex said a bit confused. In the back of his head, he made a mental note to ask Nugai about this the next chance he got. The two just continued exploring the Smash Mansion.

Alex however decided that he wanted to meet the other three Chosen Champions. It wasn't long until he found two of the other chosen champions. In front of the door for the third chosen champion.

The two just looked at Alex. "Oh, it's you." They said in a rather dismissive way.

"Number 13."

"Chloe and Grace, right?" Alex asked.

"Yeah." One said. "And why are you here?"

"Well, I wanted to meet the other chosen champions." Alex said. "If we're going to be working together, I feel we should at least know a bit about each other."

"Sure, right, working together..." Grace said rather dismissively. "Once this is over, we'll all be out to get you, and there's no way you can hold off against all of us."

"Actually, I've formed an alliance with all but you three." Alex said. They just looked at him rather dismissively.

"So?" Chloe said. "You think that means anything? You're not going to last much longer. We all saw your fights, and they were pathetic. You don't even use your Smashers. You wouldn't stand a chance against my Smashers."

"So, I take it that means, you're not going to accept my invitation to friendship." Alex sighed.

"It would be completely worthless."

"I see, that's where you stand." Alex said. "Well after this is done, come after me, and I'll fight you, and if you still have the same opinion after that, I'll eliminate you."

"Goodbye." Chloe said walking away, Grace followed. "And I wouldn't bother trying to talk to the person in there, she's a giant loser. She locked herself in her room as soon as she got here. Don't you think it would be better if she was out of this as well?"

Alex just sighed, and watched as they went away. Zoroark had his claws raised, and they were glowing with energy. "I can take care of them right now." He said.

"They're not worth it." Alex sighed. "The amount of hell that Master Hand would give us when we're supposed to be in a temporary truce..."

"Very well then, Master." Zoroark said, putting down his claws.

Alex just leaned against the wall right next to the door. Zoroark just followed suit. "Bunch of nice people they are." Alex said.

"You're number 13, right?" The person behind the door said. She was a bit nervous.

"Yeah, don't worry, Zoroark or I won't bite." Alex sighed, trying to inject some humor into the conversation. However, that seemed to fail as he didn't get a laugh from her. "We only fight back in self defense. Anyways, I just wanted to meet the remaining chosen Champions, and you're the last one."

"Oh, I see." She said.

"You're Lily, right?" Alex asked.

"Yeah." she replied.

"I'm Alex, and with me is my trusty pokemon, Zoroark." He said.

"Why do you have a Pokemon?" She asked. "Have you been in these worlds before?"

"No, it's nothing exciting like that, I just found his egg one day..." Alex replied.

"How?" Lily asked.

"I don't really know, it was just in a cave."

* * *

**Flashback May 2009:**

A much younger Alex was walking through the forest, that was near his house. Everything happened at once, he had gotten out of the hospital, after being in it for just over half-a-year with the strange disease. Just as quick as he contracted it, it disappeared over night, and then as soon as that happened, his cousin Andrew went into the insane asylum. With school, and all of those who had now decided to focus their attention on him, with bullying him, he needed some fresh air. He walked around the path, having found a stick and was now currently swinging it around, pretending that he was Link, and in Hyrule. Fighting through hordes of monsters, and looking for the next 'dungeon.'

He soon saw a cave in the distance, that he decided would be the next dungeon and began to walk there. As he got closer, he began to swing the stick, pretending that he was cutting through some Moblins that were guarding the dungeon. And then he got to the cave. He cautiously looked in from the outside, to make sure that there was nothing in there, and then slowly went in.

And then towards the back, he saw it a strange and large red and black egg. He just walked over to it and picked it up. First thinking that it was just a rock that was painted like that, but soon found it too light to be a rock that size, it was about 20 pounds. It was also warm, and occasionally seemed to move. He was curious as to what it was, and quickly took it home, hiding it from his mother in his room, putting it under some covers to keep it warm.

At night he cuddled up with it. And then in the morning, much to his horror, he found broken eggshells across his bed. He looked terrified. But perhaps what was even more terrifying was the small dog like creature that was now on his bed. It had dark grey and black fur, except for red tips on it's paws, some red dots right by it's eyes, and a red tuft of hair. It was unlike any animal he had ever seen before, although it did seem a little bit more foxish than a dog.

The small creature began to just nuzzle into Alex. It was soft, and he didn't know what to do. Perhaps it was a good thing that he was visiting Nugai that day. The small creature for the most part just stayed in his arms, and he was able to pass it off as a stuffed animal at least until he got to Nugai.

"Andrew, help me, please." Alex said. Nugai just looked around, and then at the creature in his arms. "Do you have any idea what this is?"

"It's a Zorua, a Pokemon." Nugai replied.

"No it isn't, there's no such pokemon!" Alex quickly replied. "Do I have to get a laptop and pull up Bulbagarden or Serebii?"

Nugai just let off a sigh. "Well, it's not really a revealed pokemon yet." He said. He just closed his eyes, and seemed lost in thought. After several minutes he opened up his eyes. "Okay, it's a Generation Five pokemon known as Zorua, it hasn't been revealed yet, and seems to have somehow gotten here into this world. You need to tell me everything, how did you find him?"

Alex just nodded. "He was in a cave... or rather, I found it's egg, and took it home, and it hatched..." Alex replied.

Nugai just nodded. "Okay, thanks." He said.

"Andrew, what do I do?" Alex asked.

Nugai blinked a few times, and suddenly a red and white ball appeared between the two. "Keep it inside this pokeball." Nugai replied. "It's probably has imprinted on you and is loyal to you. It will eventually evolve."

"Into what?"

"Something called Zoroark." Nugai replied. "However, it's ability, along with Zorua's is the ability of illusions. For right now, just keep it as a pet. When it evolves, tell me, and I'll tell you what's going to happen then. I don't know how it arrived here in this world, but for right now, I think we should take this as a blessing."

Alex just nodded.

* * *

"That's it?" Lily said, rather bored.

"That's really all there was to it, sorry it's nothing amazing like I was playing Pokemon during a thunderstorm, and I had my DS charging, and the house got hit, and the lightning surge opened a portal, while somehow also leaving my DS in one piece and useable."

"No, that would be extremely stupid." Lily replied.

Alex just laughed. "Yeah. Indeed."

"Are you done now?" Lily wondered. "Can you just leave me alone?"

Alex sighed. "They said you locked yourself in the room as soon as you got here. Why?"

"Are you going to make fun of me too?" She said, her voice was suddenly hostile. "Are you going to call me a shut in as well?"

Alex just looked shocked. He turned to Zoroark. "What, no." Alex said. "I have no intention on doing that."

"Shut up." Lily snapped.

Alex just looked a bit afraid. It was suddenly like the person behind the door was a different person. "I see, you don't trust us." Alex sighed. "That's fine, no one else does."

"I don't trust people in general." Lily replied. "I only trust games."

"Can I ask why?"

"Games are static, they don't change. They don't betray you, they don't lie. They don't say sugary sweet things to mask their true intentions." Lily said.

"I see." Alex said. "That's fair, thanks for the answer."

"I didn't want to be in this..." Lily replied, beginning to cry. "I was perfectly fine with just playing games at home..."

"Sorry for bothering you then." Alex said. He just got up and walked away.

"Master, what's wrong?" Zoroark asked, following him.

"It's her." He replied.

"Do you want me to eliminate her as well?" Zoroark asked.

"No, that's not what I meant." Alex quickly replied, rather defensively. "What I meant was... I had heard about a girl in our school who was severely bullied, and had decided to stay at home from now on. I think it's her."

* * *

Pit and Oren were just walking around the mansion. Pit was showing Oren a much more in depth tour than anyone else had really asked for. But then suddenly Pit stopped, and froze.

Pit just looked white, like he had seen a ghost. He was suddenly covered in a cold sweat. He was breathing heavily. "Pit?" Oren asked confused. "Is something wrong?"

"Pittoo..." Was all Pit said. He just suddenly dashed away. Oren followed behind as best as he could. Soon they had gotten to two giant doors to Master Hand's office.

Pit just opened them and, approached the Hand behind the desk. "Master Hand!" Pit said, rather panicked.

"What's wrong?" Master hand asked, confused.

"You need to let me leave now." Pit frantically demanded. "I need to go somewhere, Pittoo is in danger."

"Pittoo?" Master Hand said rather confused.

Oren just walked into the office, and watched. "He's my brother, I guess." Pit replied. "He's in danger, I need to go help him!"

Master Hand just floated there, it looked like he was thinking through his options. "What's the situation, and why does he need help?" Master Hand eventually asked.

Pit just nodded. "He's in the underworld." Pit replied. "I don't know why he's there, but I can sense he's in danger."

"And why should I send you there, what's the significance with our current mission?" Master Hand asked.

Pit just looked straight at Master Hand. "Because, Hades, is our enemy and was the one behind the mansion attack."

"And how do you know that?" Master Hand asked.

"Because, that's what Alex had said." Pit replied.

"And you're going to trust him?" Master Hand said.

"Whether you like it or not, he's our ally now." Pit replied. "He had no reason to lie to us."

Master Hand just clenched his fist. "Do what you want." He said. "But don't think that I'm going to get you out of this."

Pit just nodded and quickly rushed off, Oren once again followed. They got to a hanger, and Pit just turned around to face Oren. "Sorry," he apologized. "But I've got to go get my brother out of a mess."

"Can I come with you?" Oren asked.

"Sorry, I can't take you, my ride will only fit one." Pit replied. "That, and this is too dangerous for you."

Pit just began to walk towards a now opening gate. "Great Sacred Treasure, Activate!" Pit shouted. He jumped into the air, and suddenly was surrounded by a Mech, which quickly began to fly off. Oren could only just stare in shock.

"Pittoo, hold on, I'm coming." Pit said.

After the final battle with Hades, that had left the majority of the Great Sacred Treasure in ruin, Pit had approached Dyntos in hopes that he could repair it. Reluctantly Dyntos had agreed. "You better show this one some actual respect!" Dyntos said. "If you come to me begging for more repairs after this, it will cost you."

* * *

Back with the kid Smashers, in the room they were playing in, there was suddenly a knocking at the door. The Kid Smashers just looked up, and walking in was Princess Zelda. "Hello," She kindly said. Her eyes then fixed on Lucas. "Master Hand would like to talk to you."

Lucas froze. He had been fearing this moment. Ness just stood up, and stretched out his hand. "Don't worry." Ness said. "I'll be with you the whole time, okay? Nothing is going to go wrong, I promise."

"But... Master Hand..." Lucas said.

"Well, if something begins to go down, I'm sure we can both take him." Ness smiled. Lucas just nodded, and they began to walk towards Princess Zelda.

She just looked at Ness. "I'm sorry, but he just requested Lucas alone."

Ness however didn't back down, he just looked up at Princess Zelda. "I'm staying with him." He said sternly. "And there is nothing Master Hand can do about it."

Princess Zelda just let off a sigh, knowing perhaps too well not to ever fight against a Kid Smasher's stubbornness, if they didn't want to eat or do something, they were prepared to be stubborn. And then there was Ness, who while he never abused the card, he did hold seniority and out ranked Zelda in the Smashers. Just looking at him and seeing the determination in his eyes, he was ready to play that card if need be. "Fine," she said. "Let's go."

They just walked through the Smash Mansion's hallways, until they eventually got to Master Hand's office. They opened the large doors, and the two psychics walked in, Zelda just remained outside.

Master Hand just looked at the two psychics, as he floated behind his desk. "I only requested Lucas." Master Hand said.

"Sorry, but we're both going to be here." Ness replied. "I'm not letting you do anything to him!"

Master Hand just sighed. "Very well." He said. "I appreciate your concern for your friend, but you do realize what Lucas did, right?"

Ness just stared forwards at Master Hand. "Yes."

"And you realize it's something extremely severe, and he has to be punished." Master Hand said.

Ness just stepped in front of Lucas. "You're not going to do anything to Lucas!" Ness said. The two just were in a stare off. Ness' fingers began to spark with some psychic energy. Lucas however just grabbed Ness' wrist.

"Stop, please." Lucas said. "I realize what I did was wrong, and I'll accept whatever punishment Master Hand has for me."

Ness just looked at Master Hand and then at Lucas. "Okay, fine Luke, but I'll be here for you no matter what, okay?" Ness said.

Lucas just nodded and faced the giant glove.

"You have allied yourself with Noah." Master Hand said. He snapped his fingers and suddenly Greninja was standing right there beside the glove. "Greninja was supposed to be Noah's Smasher, and was watching from the shadows."

Lucas just glared at them both. "A lot of good that did." Lucas said, his voice dripping with venom.

Ness had known Lucas for a while, and he hardly ever talked like that. Only when he was truly angry.

Master Hand just let off a heavy sigh. "I'm not going to punish you. But you're now going to be Noah's Smasher for a while. Greninja will eventually team up with you, but not during this upcoming mission."

Lucas just nodded. "Okay."

Greninja was suddenly right beside Lucas and just put its webbed hand on the boy's shoulder, as a show of support. "Nin!" It said.

"I look forwards to working with you." Lucas said.

"Nin." Greninja replied.

"I guess you know everything." Master Hand said. "Do you have any questions?"

"I want to know why you're trying to eliminate Alex?" Lucas asked, catching Ness off guard. "He has done nothing wrong."

"He hasn't yet." Master Hand said. "But it's what he will do."

"And what's that!?" Lucas asked. "Because the person I know doesn't have any reason to be eliminated!"

Master Hand just clenched his fist. He pounded it against his desk and just floated there. "I'm investigating it." Master Hand said. "Nugai told me something, and he may of just said it to manipulate me to make me attack him and get him stronger. I have no idea if it's the truth, and before I can take any further actions, I'm looking into it."

"And what did he say?" Lucas asked.

Master Hand didn't reply.

"Well?" Ness asked. "Are we going to have to probe your mind?"

Master Hand just floated there. "You can try, but I will do everything in my power to stop you." Master Hand replied. "I can't, until I have the proof, I can't say anything."

"Should have thought about that the first time around." Ness said.

Master Hand just continued to float there. "Scorn me, ridicule me, I deserve it. But once I have the proof. Well, then you will know." With that Master Hand disappeared.

Lucas just turned to Greninja. "I'm guessing you don't know either." He said.

"Nin." Grininja replied, slumping down a bit.

"Well, right now I think we should just focus on the mission at hand." Ness said.

"Yeah." Lucas replied. They went their separate ways with Greninja and began to walk through the halls. "So, Ness..." Lucas began.

"Yeah?" Ness asked.

"Who else knew that I had disappeared?" Lucas asked.

"Well, I'm pretty sure everyone noticed that you weren't there, but with the reconstruction and everything, no one really asked questions, and probably just assumed that you were busy someplace else and just hadn't crossed paths. But besides the kid Smashers and Zelda... I guess it was just Villager." Ness replied.

Lucas just froze, and he glanced at a nearby clock. "Well... we still have time, I want to apologize to him then..."

Ness just nodded. They quickly stopped in with the other kid Smashers and told them that they were going to Smashville. Toon Link decided to tag along, while Red, Nana, and Popo were just sticking back.

As they got to Smashville they walked in. Lucas was just looking at the alloys in a bit of shock. "Master Hand sent them to protect Smashville." Ness said. "Since the night of the attack on the mansion, the people who attacked passed right by here."

Lucas just nodded. Toon Link seemed to lead the way, he had pulled out a cell phone and was constantly texting someone. He soon led them to the town hall, they walked inside, and Villager was behind a desk, surrounded by mountains of paperwork.

"Toon, Ness, Lucas!" Villager shouted rather happy. "You're here! Save me!"

Standing behind Villager was Isabelle, who had confiscated a cell phone and was just looming over him. "Now, now, Mr. Mayor." She said. "You don't want to leave all this paperwork behind..." There seemed to be an absolutely terrifying gleam in her eyes.

"Well, it seems like Villager is busy." Lucas said. "I guess we'll have to come back some other time."

"No, no, I can spare a few minutes..." Villager said, trying to get up, only to knock over a tower of paperwork. He just slowly turned his head to look at Isabelle. "I'm sorry." he squeaked out.

"Be quick, Mr. Mayor." Isabelle cheerfully said. Despite how kind and cheerful it sounded, the kid Smashers couldn't help but note a certain kind of hostility in it. Villager just quickly rushed over to the Smashers and rushed outside.

"I didn't know you were so busy." Toon Link said.

Villager just nodded. "Yeah, sorry. Just a few things have come up with a few nearby towns, we're trying to get a train to travel through all of the towns, and there's a bunch of paperwork with that. And I've been kind of neglecting all of the mayor duties I have. So, what brings you all here?"

"Well, I got Lucas back." Ness said.

Villager just turned to Lucas. "Welcome back."

Lucas just smiled. "Thank you, and I'm sorry for running away." He said.

Villager just smiled. "No, I understand." Villager replied. "There are times when you just have to run away. Listen, if you ever need to talk about something, I'm free. I may not be a good fighter, but I'm always open for discussion and helping you guys. And if you want to just get away from the Smash Mansion for a few days, you can always crash at my place."

"Thanks." Lucas said.

* * *

And soon their two hours was up. "Attention Smashers, those who are departing, please come to the teleportation room." Master Hand's voice called through out the mansion.

Within a few minutes, Alex had found the room that they needed to go to. He just walked in and looked around. Master Hand was floating there. Samus was also there, she was standing, and leaning against the far wall. There was what appeared to be a stage at one end of the room. One by one the Chosen Champions and Smashers made it to the room.

Soon they had all arrived. "Please stand here." Master Hand motioned towards a stage. "I'll put in the destination, and then you will all be teleported down to the place. You will have to do your best to figure out what's going on, and then stopping the crisis."

"Understood." A few of the Smashers said.

Samus just walked over to them and looked at all of the chosen champions along with the Smashers. "So, I'm working with you guys." Samus said.

"Yeah, I thought you would be a good asset for this mission." Alex said.

"If you thought that I would be a good asset, you should know me well enough that I like to work alone." Samus said.

"I know." Alex replied. "But, I have my reasons."

"You're the one that Master Hand wanted eliminated."

Alex just nodded. "Yes."

"You're willing to trust me, a bounty hunter?" Samus asked. "Last time, our interests aligned, neither of us wanted Hero in the game, this time though... There's nothing stopping me from pulling the trigger."

Alex just nodded. "That's true, but we're on a mission, and without me, this will probably end badly. Besides, I'm playing to win."

"Just don't hold me back, and I think we'll get along just fine." Samus said.

"I have to say the same thing to you." Alex replied.

Samus just glanced at Alex. She certainly thought he was rather bold when he talked to someone with an arm cannon right in front of him. For right now she just decided to let it slide. "Master Hand said that you knew about the Ing, and their abilities."

"Well, sort of." Alex said.

"And that you personally requested that I go with you on this mission." Samus said.

Alex just nodded. "That's right." He said.

"I just want to know how they survived." Samus asked. "They were eliminated by me long ago. Not to mention I destroyed all the phazon that they were birthed from, they shouldn't be here."

"I don't know." Master Hand said, cutting into the conversation. "The way I see it, it's the either the result of one of two things. The first, I fear that our enemies resources weren't as limited as we initially thought. The second, time and space is collapsing, so even extinct enemies might be able to come back through cracks or something. I'm hoping that it's the latter."

"So am I..." Samus said.

"Samus, while you're out there, I want your scanners to constantly be routing information to us, maybe we can get a clue from that." Master Hand said.

"Understood." Samus said.

"Also, as you had suggested, I will take your 3DS' into custody, and protect them." Master Hand said.

Alex just placed his 3DS on a table. Hayden, and Noah followed suit. Both Hayden and Noah just looked at Alex's 3DS and then at Alex for several seconds. "A 3DS XL?" Master Hand said.

"Yeah, you know, because I'm such an extra large target all ready." Alex said.

"I can't believe you actually managed to get a Pikachu one." Hayden said.

Alex just nodded. "Yeah, that was a pain in the ass." Alex laughed. "A friend told me that a store had one available for preorder, and I had to drive there 30 minutes before they closed to preorder it."

"Well, I'm glad someone actually got one before all the scalpers in the area got them." Hayden growled.

"I wish you all good luck." Master Hand said as he began to type on a keyboard. Alex had glanced at it earlier and saw that it was a Dvorak keyboard set for the right hand. After a few seconds of typing Master Hand pressed the enter key and suddenly a barrier appeared around all of them. "We are sending you as close to the area as possible, but you still need to traverse a bit of land."

"Find the source of the rift, destroy the rift, and then, hopefully the worlds will be safe for now."

"And then, it will just be business as usual, and they will all be attacking me tomorrow." Alex sighed.

"Transfer in 30 seconds." A voice said.

They just all counted down in their heads. Soon they had transformed into energy and disappeared.

* * *

**Bionis: Valak Mountain:**

The eleven landed in a snowy mountain. "It's cold!" Saki was the first to shout out.

"Where are we?" Hayden asked.

"I don't know." Alex replied. "But I think our first matter of business is to find shelter in this weather."

Everyone just nodded. "Very well then."

They found a nearby cave, and went in. Each of them just shivered. "I thought these suits were supposed to protect us." Noah said.

"They kind of are." Alex sighed. "But it's not enough."

"How about we just get some wood and start a fire." Ness said.

"Yeah." Lucas added on. The two boys in a t-shirt and shorts were shivering. They just quickly began to use PK Fire to keep warm. Unfortunately for them. There were no trees to be found outside. It was just snow as far as the eyes could see. However, with the cave walls blocking the wind, and the psychic fire burning, they managed to get warmer.

Saki just seemed to be taking the worse of it. "How are you guys so warm?" Saki just said, looking at the chosen champions.

"We're Canadian." Alex replied. "We're used to snow and blizzards for four to five months of the year, for the most part, winter practically just ended when you guys appeared."

Noah and Hayden just nodded in agreement.

"So you're right at home then." Saki muttered.

"These suits that we were given also seem to be helping us a bit." Hayden said.

"And my guess is Ruffians are possibly cold blooded creatures." Isaac added on. "Since we're not part lizard like you."

Saki just glared at Isaac.

"Okay, that's enough guys. I'll explain our current location." Alex said. "We're on Valak Mountain. Despite it's name, we're actually are on the Bionis' arm, and heading for the hand, where we will enter sword valley, and where our mission will take place. The exact spot, I'm not too sure of. But it shouldn't be that hard to find out."

They just nodded. There was silence for several minutes while everyone tried to get warm. Eventually Hayden just approached Alex.

"Can I just talk to you outside?" Hayden wondered. "You too, Noah."

"Yeah, sure." Alex said.

The three just walked out and got about 40 meters away.

"Disconnect your communications." Hayden said, as he reached up for his ear piece and turned it off. The others followed suit.

"Why?" Alex asked. However, Hayden only actually responded when all three of them had disabled the communication device.

"You know why." Hayden replied, rather furious. "What the hell are you doing? That wasn't your 3DS that you gave Master Hand."

"Of course it wasn't." Alex sighed. "My 3DS is at home charging safely in the cradle. I had taken the Pikachu one, my spare, and had it in my pocket when we were transported. I honestly thought you were going home after breakfast and I would be playing my Pokemon X nuzlock right now. Well, it worked out in my favor again... while I trust you guys, and the friendly fire is active to protect it from you guys, that still means that there are 3 people in the mansion who haven't allied with us. I'm not stupid. In fact, us handing it directly over to Master Hand worries me the most."

"We should have handed them over to our allies to protect them." Hayden said.

Alex just nodded. "I'm glad you two didn't actually say anything."

"What all could we do?" Noah said.

"Still, I'm not all too keen on just two of us being used as live bait, instead of all three." Hayden sighed.

"What do you mean?" Noah asked.

"I think Master Hand is going to turn a blind eye if someone tries to destroy all of our 3DS' during this mission." Hayden said. "I told everyone else actually to keep an eye on the remaining 3 chosen champions, just in case they try to do something. Anyways, how are you holding up?"

Alex just shrugged. "So far so good." He said, "we have to wait a while before we get to the Bottleship, but that will be when things start to get bad. So for right now, I think we should just enjoy the calm before the storm."

"So, your least favorite game..."

"Well, thankfully I'm now in the position to stop all the stupid." Alex laughed. "Probably actually won't make it any better, but... I'll put up with it, considering the fate of all existence is at stake here."

"I think we should be returning." Noah quickly chimed in. They just nodded and began to return to the cave.

"So what all did you talk about?" Saki was the first to ask.

Alex let off a sigh. "We think Master Hand is just going to turn a blind eye if anyone destroys our 3DS' during this mission. So we want you all to be prepared in the event that one or all three of us fade out of existence, and that you have to continue the mission."

"Of course." Samus said. "Now, I've been scanning the area, and slowly getting a map of the place. If you give me about 10 more minutes, I should have a full map of the mountain range."

They all just nodded and waited. A few were huddled around the fire to stay warm, a few were talking amongst themselves. Alex was just glancing at his hands. "What's wrong, Master?" Zoroark asked.

"It's nothing." Alex said. "I just need to take a walk."

"Of course Master." Zoroark said. Alex just got up and began to walk out of the cave. No one else followed.

He looked up at the snowy mountain, since they had landed it had now become night time. He just closed his eyes and tried to see everything on the mountain with aura.

He could sense monsters, he could see the ether energy that went through the veins of the Bionis. "I'll be fine if I just go for a little walk." Alex said, as he began to walk away.

* * *

**Back at the Smash Mansion:**

While some Smashers were acting as watchers, and monitoring the status of the Chosen Champions and Smashers that went to the Bionis, a good portion of them were just going around the Smash Mansion like it was a regular day.

Mario walked into the living room, where currently Mewtwo was meditating in front of the TV which was currently showing some calming footage of water flowing down a river. And there was Pikachu who was just sleeping on a chair.

There was suddenly the sound of something hitting against the window. Mario just turned to the window and just looked at it in shock. There was a small star like creature that was badly injured, and was constantly tapping the window. Mario just rushed up to the window and opened it.

"What is that thing?" Pikachu asked, getting up from his little nap.

"It's a Luma." Mario replied. "Why are you here?"

It just began to weakly chirp.

Suddenly warning sirens began to go off. Everyone just looked around a bit confused and afraid. Outside of the mansion, attacking a protective barrier was a black mass. "Just what is that?!" Pikachu said.

Mewtwo suddenly teleported out front. He glanced at the Smashers who were watching from the windows. "Sorry if you wanted a bite of it." He said. "But, I'll be taking on this thing."

He just teleported outside of the barrier, and threw several shadow balls towards the swarm of darkness. It immediately turned it's attention towards Mewtwo. Several streams of the black mass just rushed for Mewtwo, who quickly swatted it away. Perhaps, sensing that Mewtwo was an actual threat, and not just something weak like the luma it had been chasing, it began to take shape, like that of a giant human. From the chest, several arms shot out and reached for Mewtwo who just began to rapidly dodge them, throwing shadow balls to try and stop any that got too close. Several of them began to twist and bend in multiple spots, and suddenly several hands clamped down on Mewtwo.

The Pokemon however teleported out and above it. "What is this thing?"

The head of the monster looked up and began to let out a wail. The attack pushed Mewtwo away, and he quickly began to fly back towards the swarm. The giant swung it's arm, and Mewtwo dodged it a few seconds later, something else flew by where he had swung, and cut through the air.

"A delayed attack?" Mewtwo said a bit shocked. The giant's head began to swell, and from it came several orbs that rushed towards Mewtwo and began to explode. Mewtwo just quickly tried to keep his distance from it, to try and figure out it's attack patterns and what it was capable of.

However suddenly the head split open, and Mewtwo began to get sucked in towards him. Two energy balls also appeared to rush towards him. Mewtwo just quickly used his tail to knock one energy ball back towards the giant's head. The head closed, and then he suddenly exploded.

It didn't take long though for everything to reform. This time however it had reformed into something else. Almost like an animal. It looked like it was now on four legs, and had a large stinger tail, and then there was it's mouth. It was large, and seemed to have rows of jagged teeth.

The first thing that Mewtwo learned was that it was much faster than it actually looked. It suddenly disappeared and reappeared right behind him, and trying to bite him. Mewtwo quickly teleported down to the forest below, hoping that the trees would act as obstacles and slow him down. However, the beast just tore through them. It's teeth seemed to make quick work of everything.

Quickly Mewtwo began to throw some shadow balls, however they did nothing against the beast. After clearing out a large portion of the trees, the beast suddenly stood still. Purple electricity began to surge around him. Something rushed from it, and towards Mewtwo, quickly he jumped away, and suddenly from the ground three spikes appeared, surging with that same electricity. Mewtwo jumped to avoid it when suddenly the beast jumped into the air and landed right where Mewtwo was.

Mewtwo had teleported away. "It's a good thing I can teleport, otherwise this things speed really would be a giant pain." Mewtwo muttered. He just kept on focusing on the beast.

Suddenly it's tail began to rapidly jab towards Mewtwo, he avoided it several times, and saw it hit a tree that was now acting as the perimeter for their fight. Much to his shock, the tail just went right through the tree. "Just what is this thing?!"

But what was scaring Mewtwo more was just how accurate it's attacks were getting. Each move was getting closer and closer to him, it also seemed to be accurately predicting where he was going to teleport.

"It's learning..." Mewtwo muttered. He just stared at the beast. "I need to end this quickly... Evolution, beyond all evolution!"

However suddenly Ganondorf just appeared in front of Mewtwo. "Stop." Ganondorf said.

The beast suddenly was a lot more cautious. It was now watching Ganondorf. Marth, Ike, and Link also came rushing out of the trees. Suddenly the beast began to transform into a set of 5 different blades.

But said form didn't last long, around the creature space began to bend. And it was suddenly warped away. Master Hand just floated down. "Good, it didn't notice me." He said gasping for air.

"Where did you teleport it to?" Mewtwo asked.

"A pocket dimension." Master Hand replied.

"And just what was that?" Ganondorf asked.

"It's known as the Swarm and this just got much more serious than I thought it was." Master Hand said. "Everyone who's here, we're going to have to have an emergency meeting!"

* * *

The Underworld was hell, there was no other way to put it. Ever since they had entered, they were under constant attack. Of course, they wanted it this way, since if they weren't it was certainly a lot more suspicious.

Magnus and Dark Pit were currently taking a break. They had found a storm cloud in the Underworld, that Phosphora quickly used to her advantage, and currently any underworld monsters that got close to them, were quickly struck down by lightning.

"This is working out better than I thought." Magnus laughed.

Dark Pit just nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we had quite the lucky break with those storm clouds... But..."

Magnus just looked up at the dark angel. "But?"

"Something in the back of my mind is still telling me this is too easy." Dark Pit replied. "Hades has to know we're coming by now, and I'm positive he wouldn't allow those storm clouds to appear if he knew Phosphora was with us. And-" Dark Pit suddenly stopped. His hand reached up for his head, a sharp pain had just shot through it.

"Hey, are you all right?" Magnus asked.

"Yeah." Dark Pit replied. "I'm fine, it seems like Pit is back here in this dimension..."

"Think you can use your freaky twin telepathy to get him over here to help us?" Magnus asked.

"I'd rather not." Dark Pit replied. "He'd never let me hear the end of it, how I was asking for help... Then again, it would be great if he came to try and save us, but we all ready had finished everything off here. Then I could just rub it in his face that I cleaned up his mess."

Magnus laughed. "Oh, that would be a great end to this job."

* * *

At Hades' castle in the Underworld, in a tower, there was a person looking out of a window at the direction that Dark Pit, Phosphora, and Magnus were approaching from. The door to the room opened, and in walked Hades. "And what are you doing, my little Commander?" Hades asked.

"I'm just watching them approach, and wondering why you don't just crush them now?" the person replied. "The three of them are all weak. There is nothing special about them."

"Why to fill them with hope of course, let them think that they have a chance. And then when the right moment comes, then I can crush them, and watch as they're filled with despair. I'll get to watch them beg for mercy and for me to spare their lives." Hades said.

"Your flair for the dramatic will be the end of you." The person said.

"Oh and what force is possibly going to kill me? Love?" Hades asked as he rolled his eyes. "One's a mortal, one's Viridi's dog who can only give me little static shocks, and the other is Pit's failed clone, I have nothing to be worried about. Unless their plan is to bore me to death."

The person just glanced at Hades. "When you put it like that, are their souls even worth anything? Are you even going to kill them to revive them?"

"We'll see." Hades replied. "Maybe if they impress me enough."

"So, I doubt the reason you're here was just to ask me what I was doing."

"Correct, I have a job for you." Hades said. "It's about the little experiment with the chaos seed, I'd say it's almost a success, just now the Smashers have sniffed it out, and are going to get rid of it. Your job is to go and protect it. They should also have that machine ready for you to use."

"Understood." the person said, standing up.

Hades just glanced at the Commander, and decided to give him some final words of encouragement before he left. "Just try not to ruin your new toy, Claus."

* * *

File 1

Do you want to save?

YES

Party: Alex, Zoroark, Saki, Isaac, Noah, Lucas, Samus, Hayden, Ness, Roy

**10 Chosen Champions Remain**

* * *

**Maybe it ended up focusing too much on the OC's here. And this was actually shorter than the last chapter (by about 3000 words...).  
**

**Notes:**

**Assuming it actually shows up, the '****人****' character that the Monado gains in that scene means Person/human.  
**

**Okay... school things. Once again, I'm Canadian... I only know it as grade 9-12. The freshmen, Sophomore, Junior, Senior names that I have seen in other (I'm assuming most likely American) fics have always confused me, and if I've got this correct. Freshman = Grade 9, Sophomore = Grade 10, Junior = Grade 11, Senior = Grade 12. If I got that wrong, Sorry...**

**Oren is actually welsh for Orange...**

**Zorua and Zoroark were revealed to the public on February 10, 2010. **

**When writing the Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. part, I had only gotten up to chapter 3 in the game... I may be at chapter 4 now. I really haven't progressed any farther, and I forget the last time I played. Xenoblade 3DS came out, Then Puzzles and Dragons... I've been replaying Kingdom Hearts games.**


	8. The Future is Changing

**Van Pat said: ****There was a slight error in the chapter involving Hades' words, but nothing big. 'Phosphora's dog' (I think you meant Viridi there.)**

**Response: ****Uh... Crap... Original Character, do not steal? Or it's the Nintendog... Anyways, I went back and fixed that.**

**Spoiler warnings:**

**Actually... Now that I fully wrote out the chapter, there is a post final boss Xenoblade spoiler. It is in regards to the Monado. I'm not sure how to describe it without spoiling it. But, I guess I'll go with the working title for Xenoblade. "Monado: Beginning of the World." If that makes sense, and isn't a word salad title, you most likely know the spoiler. (And it's not even the full spoiler...)  
**

**Honestly, I think this is going to be my last Spoiler Warning, at least for games represented in Smash. In the future if a character is a Smasher, expect anything and everything from any of their games. **

**I may do a spoiler warning for games that are outside of Smash.**

* * *

Chapter 8: The Future is Changing

Well before the assault on Prison Island, in fact well before the attack on Colony 9 that killed Fiora that spurred Shulk and Reyn onto their journey, Hades had approached the leader of Mechonis.

The leader of Mechonis, Egil, was currently in a giant gold Mechon. There were several mass produced face Mechon that were around Hades, or at least now their scraps were. Standing obediently at his side was the Commander. He had orange pants, a black jacket, and black boots. His arm was covered by an arm cannon, and then his face had a helmet covering his hair.

"Who are you?" The Golden Mechon asked.

"My name is Hades." Hades replied. "And I wish to help you."

"And why should I seek your help?" the Golden Mechon asked.

Hades just stood there. "Because, we both want the same thing. You want the death of every creature on the Bionis. And I want their souls."

"How do you know that?!" The Golden Mechon asked.

"As the Lord of the Underworld, I simply need to look at someone and I can read them like an open book." He replied. "You're no different Egil. Anyways, I'm here to help you, whether you like it or not." Hades just held a black spore like thing that was about the size of a tennis ball. "This is a Chaos Seed." He said. "It's role is to spread chaos. I want to see what will happen if it's fed death and destruction, I want to see how it will germinate."

Egil just looked at the person. "Very well." He said.

"Also, this is a Commander in my forces." Hades said. "Build him a Face Mechon, and he will help you."

"Very well." Egil replied. "For the Mechonis!"

* * *

All of the Smashers were all gathered in the briefing room. Master Hand was just floating there, watching as everyone took their seats.

"Everyone, a few minutes ago the Smash Mansion was under attack." Master Hand said. "By a bunch of creatures. Mewtwo fought it off, and gave me the opportunity to seal it away in a pocket dimension, but unfortunately... I've encountered these creatures before."

"What are they?" Mewtwo asked.

"They are known as the Swarm." Master Hand replied. "Those monsters, are next to invincible. They adapt, and can change forms based upon the situation. They learn. Their numbers are next to endless. Even sealing it away in that pocket dimension will do little to stop it. It will eventually break free, and then it will rejoin what it was separated from."

"And why did you stop me from fighting it?" Mewtwo asked.

"At most, the best that you could do would just be knock off some of the swarm, and temporarily reduce their numbers." Master Hand said. "But... the real reason was I didn't want it seeing your Mega Evolution. As it constantly is learning, adapting, and evolving. Anything you use against it only works for a limited time. And then there is the possibility that it could do something similar to Mega Evolution. That is why I stopped you."

Everyone was just quiet.

"Does it have any weakness?" Toon Link asked.

Master Hand floated there. "I imagine if you could destroy where they come from, but I don't know where they come from, and it might be an uphill battle."

"Why was it here?" Popo asked.

"I imagine it was chasing after the Luma." Mario said. Everyone just looked at him.

"The what?"

"The Luma." Mario replied. "It's a star like creature that had come to the mansion and was knocking on the windows, it was badly hurt, and then the swarm appeared and the sirens went off. I still got it to Dr. Mario before Master Hand called this meeting."

Everyone turned to face Dr. Mario. "As far as I can tell, it will be okay." Dr. Mario replied. "It's just resting right now."

"Dr. Mario, I know how you feel about us approaching and overwhelming your patients." Master Hand began. "But could we talk to it? We need to get any valuable information from it."

"Just two at a time, so you and Mario." Dr. Mario replied. "And you will only have 5 minutes."

"Very well, everyone else remain here!" Master Hand instructed.

Master Hand, Mario, and Dr. Mario exited out of the room.

"This just went from bad to worse, didn't it." Oren sighed

"Yeah..." Marco said.

"A monster that is constantly evolving." Rune said. "But I've never seen anything like this in the games."

"There was subspace, and the shadow bugs in Brawl right?" Echo said. "But this seems way too different to that. They're both able to combine into something, but with the shadow bugs where they were able to form into a creature and solidify. While the swarm didn't have that ability and it's like each individual swarm piece is interchangeable."

"So like a swarm of mosquitoes, you can see them due to their sheer numbers, but they're each just an individual unit with the same goal in mind." Rune said.

"Termites." A voice whispered. They all turned to see Lily just sitting in a chair. In her arms she was hugging Kirby as though he was a stuffed animal.

"Termites?" Echo said confused.

"It's not important." Lily said, trying to shake off the conversation.

There was a brief moment of silence. "No, what do you mean by termites?" Rune asked.

"Well, they're just a bunch of bugs that do their own thing, they're just a cog in the machine, but collectively and unknowingly manage to build something greater." Lily replied. "If that makes any sense... Virtue's Last Reward explains it better..."

They just nodded.

"But I'd argue the Swarm seems unified in a common goal, not so much that they're all unknowingly working towards the same goal." Echo replied. "How it's able to change shape and all that..."

Around the room the other Smashers were all just waiting patiently for the others to get back, hoping that there was at least some answers to their questions.

Mewtwo however just stood up frustrated.

"Mewtwo?" Roy said a bit confused.

"I just need to be elsewhere." Mewtwo replied. "I need to meditate. I'm sure Master Hand will understand."

He just teleported out of the room.

* * *

Mario, Dr. Mario, and Master Hand had made it down to the hospital wing in the Smash Mansion. They quickly rushed into find the Luma that was rather anxious. Upon setting it's eyes on Mario it just began to chirp and quickly flew towards him, rubbing itself against the plumber in an attempt to show affection.

"I'm so glad I found you! Mama's in danger..." It said.

"Rosalina is in trouble?!" Mario said.

"Our home was destroyed, and drifting through space. She said to go tell Master Hand, and he would send help." The Luma said.

Master Hand just floated there. "If the Swarm is coming for her, then we have no choice." Master Hand said. "Mario, you're the most familiar with Rosalina. I wish you would go and find her. You can take four other Smashers."

Mario just nodded. "Fox, Olimar, Captain Falcon, and my brother should be enough."

"Very well then." Master Hand said. "Depart immediately. We need to protect Rosalina no matter what. If the Swarm has it's eyes on her... I don't want to think about it..."

Quickly Mario rushed out of the hospital wing.

Within a few minutes, Mario, Luigi, Fox, Olimar, and Captain Falcon were in the Great Fox, or at least a replica of the real Great Fox. It had taken off. Much to Dr. Mario's dismay, with them was the Luma, unfortunately the Luma was really the only one that knew the location of Rosalina, or at least where she was previously, so it had to act as a guide.

* * *

Alex had stupidly wandered far away from the cave. At first it was just a way to clear his mind from all that was happening and get some fresh air. But now, he had tripped, fallen off of a few meter high cliff, rolled down a hill for a while. The end result was he was completely disoriented and now lost with a twisted ankle. Any time he tried to put weight on his right foot, he was greeted with a bit of pain.

"Zoroark will come and find me." He said to himself, walking slowly along a cliff, trying to find a way to get up it.

But he soon began to find that his strength had been sapped from the constant bitter winds. He just collapsed against the cliff wall and looked up.

Alex just laughed. "I was careless." He muttered. To make matters worse, he had been surrounded by a group of light blue, white, fat bird like creatures that had weapons and armor. Some had bows, and others had spears, and poleaxes. They were known as Chilkins. Alex just looked around, trying to find an exit, but there was no easy way out. Fighting was his only option.

"I guess I better figure out how this works then." Alex said, he swung his arm, and the sword appeared in his hands. However it was now like a beam sword. A blue laser shot out. He rushed for the nearest chilkin and brought down his sword. He was expecting it to cut right through it, like a hot knife cuts through butter, but the chilkin's armor partly protected it. It also didn't help that when he swung down, he had put his foot down, causing him to flinch and lose a bit of power.

It let out a cry of pain, and that seemed to get all the other chilkins ready to attack. Several arrows narrowly missed his head. Alex, just quickly tried to force his way through, however, their attacks caused him to back up until he was against the cliff's wall. The chilkins just approached, getting closer and closer.

Alex just sighed. There was one way he thought about using to get out of this, just it would put him out of commission for the rest of the mission. He would of rather not do this, but he just felt that he had no choice. At least until he heard a voice.

"Oi! Why don't you lot pick on someone your own size!" A voice shouted. This was from an orange haired person. He was probably not exactly well dressed for the weather, since his clothes lacked sleeves. On his arm was what looked like a giant shield, and then a blade sticking out from it, the actual name for the weapon was a 'gunlance'.

The chilkin's turned to the new person, alongside him were 7 others.

The first was a rather average looking person. He had blonde hair, and wielded a red sword. The Monado.

The second person was an older man, clearly the oldest in the group. He had long dark hair. What was most surprising about him though was that his right arm lay limp at his side, but he still was able to fight with his left, and was cutting through the chilkin's with relative ease.

The third person was a woman with a rather large gun. She stood back, and was shooting. Healing any of her team mates, if they got hurt from the battle, and attacking the chilkin between healing.

The fourth person was another woman. Attached to her head was what looked like wings. She was holding a staff, and began to chant stuff. Spheres of energy were appearing around her, and then rushing towards the chilkins.

There was a creature in the group, and looked like a giant stuffed animal. It had long floppy ears, that was currently carrying something that looked like a a sock puppet attached to a stick.

There was a final person with silver hair and dressed in purple. However he stood back from the fighting and didn't join in. He had a rather large knife, and only used it if a chilkin rushed towards him.

Together they all took care of the chilkins. When they were done, they just began to put away their weapons and the person with the red sword approached Alex.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes. Thank you." Alex said.

"I'm Shulk." He said. "And these are my companions, Reyn, Sharla, Dunban, Riki, and Melia. And this is Alvis, our guide."

"Thank you." Alex said. "I'm Alex"

"What are you doing out here alone?" Reyn asked.

"I'm not alone, I had a group that I was traveling with. However, they were resting in a cave, and I came out here for some fresh air." Alex said.

"And what brings a Homs like yourself out here with your companions?" Dunban wondered.

Alex just closed his eyes. "I... we're looking for something." He said.

"Well then, perhaps we can help you find it." Shulk said.

Alex brought his thumb up to his mouth and bit on the tip a bit. "I appreciate the offer, but what I'm looking for I'm not sure you'll be able to find."

"I should be able to find something, or the general area with the help of the Monado." Shulk said.

Alex's eyes focused on the red sword. "I see." He said. "We're here at this point."

"What?" Shulk said, confused.

"It's nothing." Alex said. "Please come with me, I'd like you to meet my companions. At least that's what I'd say if I actually knew where they were."

"If you knew where they were?" Dunban repeated.

"I got lost, I fell down the cliff."

"Homhom lucky to be alive." Riki chimed in.

"Yes, it was rather miraculous." Alex admitted. "Especially since the worst that happened to me was a twisted ankle."

Sharla quickly pulled out a bag and rushed to Alex's side. "Here, I'm a medic, I can help you." She said. "Which ankle is it?"

Alex just pointed to his right foot. Sharla pulled out an ointment and applied it to his foot. Followed by taking her rifle off of her back and stepping back a few feet. Even knowing that she was a healer, and was able to heal people through ether and used ether bullets to do it, Alex still instinctively tensed up. She just aimed the rifle at the ankle and then fired. A few seconds later there was a warm, pleasant feeling over ankle. "How does that feel?" Sharla asked.

Alex just stood up and put down weight on it, there was no pain. "Amazing! It's as good as new!"

"Great, I'm glad." Sharla said.

"Now then, we can help you find your companions." Shulk said.

"Thanks, it would be appreciated." Alex said. They then began to walk. A few more Chilkin's seemed to come looking for their comrades but they were quickly defeated by the group.

Alex was relieved that he had run into them in this way, at least they were willing to listen to him. If there was some other way that they had run into eachother, he was actually afraid that they wouldn't help him, or he would have difficulty explaining the situation.

In hindsight, he was also cursing at himself because Nugai had given him homework a while ago that he failed to do, beyond the first little bit, and it probably would have been beneficial in this situation.

* * *

"Listen, to prepare you for the event that if you ever have to enter into a game, I want you to read fanfiction stories about people who go into the games, and learn what they did, learn from their mistakes and all that." Admittedly, he attempted reading one or two, but other things (mainly school) seemed to get in the way.

"Why?" Alex asked. "This is just people making a fictional story for their own entertainment, right?"

"You'd think that." Nugai replied. "Listen, I've theorized that people can subconsciously see into other worlds, and make video games upon what they see. Why wouldn't or couldn't fanfiction be the same? Have you heard the concept of the Morpogentic Field?"

"That was in 999, and Virtue's Last Reward" Alex replied. "By the way, thanks for recommending those, and the instructions to 'if I thought I was nearing the end, play in the dark at night' I couldn't sleep for a week after the axe and sub endings." His voice dripped with venom. "God damn it, how the hell did you get to play it in here anyways?"

"I'm me." Nugai replied.

Alex just grunted. "Anyways, get on with it."

"Well, they used the concept of psychics, or espers as they're called there to access something called the Morpogenetic Field. In the games, the Morpogenetic Field was accessed because it was an experiment to send puzzle answers telepathically to someone else to find a solution. However those accessing the Morpogenetic Field could send their consciousness through time and space." Nugai said. "With that in mind, I want to say that those events written in fanfiction actually happened."

Alex just stared blankly at him. "Look, just because you published your story online doesn't mean that every story out there actually happened."

Nugai just let off a small chuckle. "But with infinite parallel universes and possibilities, who's to say that it did happen? Listen, since we're running short on visitation time, and just for the sake of my theory, let's assume that I'm right, okay?"

"Fine." Alex muttered, rolling his eyes.

Nugai just glared, but deep down, he couldn't actually blame the kid, this stuff was rather far-fetched, and he didn't even know if it was correct. "Basically, writers having that sudden eureka moment, or a sudden plot bunny where something jumps into their heads, I think it's them accessing the Morpogenetic Field, and alternate universes. In that alternate universe, they themselves actually went on an adventure or they were somehow able to see what's going on, and transcribe it." Nugai replied. "So, I want you to read and study them for that reason."

Alex just nodded. "Okay, if you think it will help out."

"Yeah, just try and figure out basic patterns that keep happening through out those stories, okay?" Nugai said.

Alex just nodded. He tried, but it was a bit difficult at times. "Stop using the word 'chuckled'." he shouted out in frustration one day at the computer. "Use the word 'said' people tend to ignore it the majority of the time!"

From the stories that he had read the pattern seemed to be like this: situation happened in world, group went in to stop it or find something, did that while meeting up with the protagonists from the game, returned out, rinse and repeat.

* * *

And thankfully, that was exactly what seemed to be happening right now in this situation. He just let off a sigh and continued walking forwards. They were climbing a rather steep hill to try and get to higher ground. Alex was hoping that he could see his old footprints in the snow, but unfortunately the wind was quickly covering his old tracks, he didn't even know if they were on the right level.

He just glanced over to see Reyn talking to Shulk.

"Hey, is something wrong Shulk?" Reyn asked. "You seem to be lost in thought."

"It's just, that ever since we've met him, I haven't had any visions." Shulk replied. "At least, there have been no visions of him, or anything. Normally when someone says something about trying to find something, I can see the general area, or someone else and what we have to do. But this time, I haven't seen anything."

"Just like with those creatures?" Reyn said.

"Yeah." Shulk replied. He looked a bit nervous.

"Do you think they're related somehow?" Dunban asked.

Shulk just nodded. "Unfortunately yes, if it's just like those creatures, and I don't have any visions, there has to be a correlation..."

"Then maybe this guy will have some answers then." Reyn said, punching his hand. "We can take him."

"No." Shulk quickly said. "If he was responsible for those creatures, I'm sure he would have used them against the Chilkin or against us."

Alex just let off a small laugh. Despite their attempts to whisper and conceal their conversation, he could still hear them. "_Shulk can't see visions of me, and some strange creatures._" He thought. "_If I had to guess, then those strange creatures are the Ing. And he can't see us in visions because we are outsiders from this world, and would therefore exist outside of the preestablished harmony... If I remember correctly from the game, his visions are from reading the ether._"

The group had made it up a steep hill and just looked around. "There's a cave." Reyn said pointing towards one. Alex could see a flicker of fire from within it.

"That may be it." Alex said. "We had just started a fire when I decided to step out."

They nodded and began to walk towards it, and a few seconds later Zoroark came out of the cave. He took one look at the group and began to rush over. Everyone instinctively reached for their weapons.

"What on Bionis is that thing?" Reyn quickly said equipping his gunlance.

"Wait!" Alex shouted, realizing that they were getting ready for battle. "He's one of my companions."

The group from Bionis were still rather cautious, they didn't let go of their weapons as Zoroark approached. Alex just quickly walked in front of the group.

"Master, where were you?" Zoroark asked, as he got in front of Alex.

"Sorry, I tripped and fell and then got lost." Alex laughed.

Zoroark just shook his head in disbelief. "You're kidding me Master."

"Nope, sorry." Alex laughed.

"Only you." Zoroark muttered. He soon looked at the group that Alex had been traveling with and just smiled, having recognized them. "Well, at least you found them."

Alex just nodded and then turned around to face Shulk and his companions. "Please come in and meet my companions." Alex said.

The group walked into the cave. Everyone just looked up at Alex as he entered. "Hey, you were gone for so long we were beginning to get worried." Hayden said.

"Great way of showing concern guys." Alex replied. "You didn't even send out a search party."

"Hey, it's cold out!" Saki shouted. "Besides, we've seen you fight, you can take care of yourself."

"Most of the time. Apparently I've met my match with giant chickens." Alex replied.

"Giant chickens?" Saki said rather confused.

"And a twisted ankle. Yeah, sorry, I tripped and fell, and had to find my way back here. Thankfully I met some people." Alex laughed. "Anyways, I'll introduce everyone."

Alex just introduced everyone from both groups. After that Shulk's group took a while to relax and regain their strength. The cold air of Valak mountain had weakened them as well.

Lucas and Ness, being in t-shirt and shorts were shivering. Lucas just stared at Riki, who had sit down beside him. "It's so cute!" Lucas suddenly shouted, picking up Riki and holding him close to him. "And warm!"

"Littlepon will put Riki down!" Riki tried to shout, however his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"Ness here, feel it, doesn't it's fur feel like a plush stuffed animal?" Lucas asked, suddenly pushing Riki against Ness. Riki tried to swing his biter at them, however it was quickly intercepted by Reyn.

"Oi, furball, they're just kids." Reyn said taking away the biter.

"Riki is not toy!" Riki shouted out.

"Just endure with it Riki, they're cold." Shulk said. "I don't think they were quite as prepared for the cold weather here."

"I can't say we're much better considering Reyn's attire." Dunban said.

"Come on Luke, Riki clearly doesn't want to be held by you." Ness said. "And besides, you're just like me, you can use PK Fire to regulate your body heat. You don't need that."

Lucas just shook his head. "It's not that." He muttered. "I just feel like I need to hold onto something right now. I feel something strange and I don't know what it is..."

Ness just nodded. "Okay fine. I'm here if you need me."

Riki stopped struggling. He glanced back and saw Lucas was crying, and just wrapped his ears around the young boy. "There, there, littlepon." Riki said.

"Guess a father of 11 does know somethings about children." Dunban said.

Ness just looked at Riki, then at Dunban, then back at Riki, and then back at Dunban rather shocked. "That thing, 11 kids?" He said.

Dunban just laughed. "Yeah, don't let the Nopon's cute looks deceive you. They are quite cunning, and aren't above using their appearance to their advantage."

Ness just nodded.

Alex was just close to the fire, Zoroark was right beside him curled up as a ball. "It's just like camping, isn't it?" Zoroark asked.

"Yeah, we just need some Smores." Alex replied. "Actually wouldn't mind something to eat since it's been a while since breakfast..."

"Well, on that note, we found a bunch of fruit at the back of the cave. This might actually have of been some storage for some monsters. " Roy said. "Want some?"

"Yeah sure." Alex said. "Just as long as it's safe."

"Saki ate them first." Isaac replied. "Nothing happened to him."

"What about territorial monsters?" Alex wondered.

"I'm sure we can take care of them if any come." Isaac replied.

"Okay, fine." Alex said.

"Well then," Saki laughed. "Have this." he threw what looked like an apple at Alex who caught it. He just took a quick bite in it. Suddenly his whole body was overcome with heat. He was suddenly uncontrollably sweating. Everyone was just staring at him in shock. Alex just threw the apple at Saki.

"Well, it's been a while since I've had anything that spicy." Alex said.

"That's it?" Saki said a bit shocked. "That's all you have to say?"

Alex shrugged. "Yeah, sorry, I love spicy food, and how hot it is."

"That was a fire apple!" Reyn shouted surprised. "This guy has got to be hiding how hot it is."

"No not really." Alex replied. "It's spicy, but I'm not going to start breathing fire. I've got a bottle of ghost pepper sauce in the fridge back at home, and I'd say that's worse." He just turned to the group from Bionis. "Since I can't trust my own comrades, is there actually anything in that fruit pile that's edible?"

"Well there should be some Ether Plums which are native to this area." Melia said.

Alex just rummaged through the pile finding some plums and started eating them. They were nice and sweet.

"Well, when we get back, you might as well watch out for Toon Link." Ness said. "He likes putting hot sauce into food for pranks."

"If he does that with me I'll pay him back 130 times." Alex calmly replied. "By the way, in the future, watch your food Saki."

Saki just went white, and a few of the Smashers burst into laughter. "Told you, you shouldn't have done that." Zoroark laughed.

After Alex had ate some of the ether plums, he glanced at the group from Bionis. "Well then, now that you've met all of us, and we've met all of you, I think it's time to explain what we're here for." Alex sighed. "We're not from the Bionis or Mechonis."

"Not from the Bionis or Mechonis?" Reyn repeated. "What are you trying to pull?"

"I could hear you Shulk, talking about how you couldn't see anything with me." Alex said. "How you didn't have any visions. We're not from your world. We're here because, well, imagine if two objects were rubbing together. Say an orange and an apple. They were rubbing together so hard that they caused sparks, and a hole in space and time opened, and the two fused to become one."

"An apple and an orange fused to become one?" Mellia said confused.

"Riki don't know what you talking about." Riki said.

"In sword valley, there is a new building that just appeared. Well building is quite the wrong term... It's actually a space station." Alex continued. "We're here to investigate it, and hopefully get rid of it."

"Just listen to this guy Shulk, he's a loony one." Reyn said.

From the ear piece Master Hand was yelling to not reveal anything about the world. Alex just let off a heavy sigh. "Of course I wouldn't reveal anything about this or what happens." He whispered.

The six from Bionis were still a bit confused, they didn't know whether or not to fully trust them.

"Anyways, you can choose to believe us or not, once we get to sword valley, you'll find out for your self." Alex said. "You do have to go through the Bottle Ship to get to Galahad fortress and it would be better if we were with you, strength in numbers and all of that."

"It is as he says." Alvis suddenly spoke up. "I saw something lodged into the Mechonis' sword. Those dark creatures are there too..."

"He saw?" Hayden said rather confused.

"Alvis is the High Entia's seer." Shulk explained. "We both can see into the future. But he says his is more limited than mine."

"Yes," Alvis replied. "There is a ceremony that I have to take part in."

"And when was this ceremony?" Reyn asked. "I never saw you do something like that?"

"It was back in Alcamoth. I saw myself leading you to sword valley, and something foreboding had appeared there." Alvis replied. "I imagine it's this space station that they're talking about."

"Very well." Shulk said. "You can come with us. Since we're heading that way anyways."

Alex just smiled. "Thank you." He said.

"Now that we have regained our strength, I estimate that we're at about the Bionis' elbow." Alvis said. "We should continue on wards."

They all nodded, and got up.

* * *

Most of their trek had been uneventful. It seemed that even the most territorial of monsters were suddenly backing away from them, perhaps due to their large group size. They soon found themselves in front of them was another cave. This one, the entrance was decorated by large crystals. They just walked past it into the cave. It wasn't long until they came to wall that appeared to be made of ice. Beyond that was an old building known as Ose Tower.

"Ruins, I wonder who built them." Sharla said.

"Alvis, this the place you meant?" Reyn asked.

Alvis just looked around. "It appears that it has frozen over while I've been away."

"Been away?" Reyn asked.

"Pay me no mind." Alvis replied. "Obviously, we will need to do something about the ice before we can enter."

Riki just began to jump up and down. "Throw hot water on ice!" He suggested.

"Yeah, nice one genius!" Reyn said rather sarcastically.

"Precisely." Alvis replied. "There should be a geyser nearby." Everyone from the Smashers and the Chosen Champions just froze, and looked at Alvis kind of funny, as they had heard the word 'geezer'. "In the cave next to it, we will find a stone called Magma Rock."

"And we can use this rock to melt the ice?" Dunban asked.

"I believe so." Alvis replied. "So, shall we head to the cave?"

"Sounds good. Start looking for a geyser, everyone." Shulk said.

"Geezer?" Noah said a bit confused. "We're looking for an old man?"

"Oh, right the accents." Alex laughed. "They mean a geyser, the water spouts that are normally near volcanoes."

"Oh!" Noah replied. "That was only a little while back then."

They made their way out of the cave, and on the horizon saw water erupting. "Well, that didn't take too long." Reyn said. They just began to rush towards the geyser. They got there, and quickly had to take out some Chilkens that were there, and began to look around for the cave.

They soon found it and began to walk towards it. As soon as they entered they were hit with a sudden heat wave.

"This is so much nicer." Saki managed to say. Off in the distance of the cave they could see a red glow.

"It's too hot if you ask me." Isaac said.

"Well, considering how geysers actually work, there's got to be magma somewhere near here." Alex replied. "And it's only going to get hotter."

"Well, hot or cold, I don't care." Roy laughed. "I'm ready for both."

"These suits also seem to be protecting us from the heat." Hayden said.

Shulk just held out the Monado. He swung it and suddenly a barrier appeared around everyone. "This should help." He said. All of a sudden, the heat didn't seem like it was so bad. They felt like they had at least some protection as they got deeper into the caves.

Almost immediately a bat like creature, a Vang, attacked them. Dunban, and Riki just made short work of it.

Hayden just glanced at Alex. "So, what's happening next?" He whispered.

"Well, to be honest, I don't remember Valak Mountain that much." Alex admitted. "It was sort of a snowy area... and I can't say a whole lot happened here. It just exists for the trek to Sword Valley, you know? It's really just about a spot that feels like filler. Although it does have a few super bosses later in the game. And we do have a few boss battles coming up."

They turned to the left, however quickly came to a dead end, the only thing there was some red crystals. Shulk just walked over to the crystals and began to mine them. "All right, I've got some good ether crystals."

There were some gray creatures, with large bushy tail, large hind legs that looked like they belonged to a rabbit, and a horn on top of their head. This creature was a Porcu Hox, and there were about five of them in total. They weren't attacking them, most likely because they didn't see them as threats. However that suddenly changed when Noah accidentally stepped on one's tail.

It let out a pained squeak and the other four just instantly began to rush for them. Alex grabbed his sword and rushed for one.

The Porcu Hox that Noah had stepped on just lunged for him, however Reyn suddenly rushed in and blocked the attack. "Oi, kid, don't worry, I'll protect you. Just stay behind me!"

Noah nodded, and just aimed his blaster at the Porcu Hox's, shooting at them. Due to the group's sheer numbers they were able to quickly beat the five creatures, and continue onward. "I'm sorry." Noah apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Shulk said. "We got some Hox Flints, that we said that we were going to pick up for a nopon scientist out here."

They back tracked and made their way through the other passage in the cave. Stopping when they saw a red mist like creature.

"I don't recommend touching that one, kid." Reyn said.

"They're Nebulae, creatures made out of pure ether." Alex said. "And personally I think a giant pain. Only ether attacks can really hurt them."

"You're aware of them?" Shulk asked. "But, I thought you said you weren't from here."

"Yes." Alex replied. "I've just been to the Bionis a few times before."

"You can travel to other worlds of your own free will?" Shulk said.

"Yeah. Sort of." Alex replied. "It's just a little, um, difficult I guess?"

"Difficult?"

"Yeah dual layers of security, when crossing worlds. You know?" Alex replied. He was getting a bit uncomfortable talking to Shulk, because there was a very specific reason that the people of Bionis couldn't leave. In a way, they were actually prisoners, but if they knew that... especially if Shulk knew that. It could be disastrous. He was hoping a monster would attack them, but beyond that first Vang, all other Monsters seemed to stay back unless provoked. They were smart enough to stay away from a large group such as this.

He just bet everything on this lie, and hoped that it would stop Shulk from asking further questions. "Listen, I've all ready said too much. There is specific protocols that we have to follow, there are things such as non-interference clause's that we have to follow, only coming into contact with people that have shown a certain level of technological advancement. We can't interfere with wars on the worlds, by giving people new technology or weapons, or participating. The only reason we're here is because of this strange crisis. Once it's gone, we're out of here. Maybe when your war with Mechonis is over, you may be able to go out and find other worlds, but for right now, I'm sorry, I can't say any more."

"I understand." Shulk replied.

Alex just let out a sigh of relief. "Good, thank you." He heard Master Hand yelling in to the ear piece, but it was thankfully distorted a bit due to the caves cutting out the majority of the signal.

They walked into the next room of the cave, and there was a pool of magma in the center. There were two lion like creatures at the other end, just watching them attentively. Much to the surprise of everyone, even they didn't attack.

They followed the caves deeper getting to a much larger room. From the wall they saw magma was oozing out. They slowly approached and entered the room, noticing the giant pool of that surrounded a single lone island of earth in the middle of the room.

They approached it and from the magma emerged a dragon bug like creature. "It seems like that thing, the Conflagrant Raxeal, is guarding the Magma Rock." Alvis said. "Looks like you actually will have to battle it."

Alex, Hayden, and Noah along with the Smashers got ready, however Alvis stood in front of them, blocking the way. "I thought you said that you couldn't interfere." He said. "Besides, there are many trials ahead for Shulk, and you know that he has to be strong, for them, don't you?"

"Yes, your right."Alex replied.

"Then we shall watch the battle from back here where we can't interfere." Alvis said walking back. The Smashers and humans had no choice but to obey.

"Now then." Alvis said. "Please come with me for a few seconds."

Alex just nodded. He told the others to just stay back. "Don't worry, it will be over quickly." He followed Alvis right to the entrance of the cave.

"How much do you know?" Alvis asked.

"Everything."

"I don't quite understand you." Alvis replied. "How have you been to the Bionis before?"

"Where I come from, this is a game." Alex said pulling out a cell phone. "You play them on screens like this, and that's how I've explored Bionis and Mechonis."

Alvis just nodded. "So you know who I am."

"Indeed, 'I am Monado, I was here at the beginning. And I will proclaim the end.' You are the Monado." Alex replied.

Alvis just seemed to smile. "So, Shulk will prevail." He said. "Good, I'm glad. You should know by now that you're out of his range, none of us can see you in our visions, so you can speak freely."

"No, that's fine." Alex replied. "He's probably watching us anyways, trying to figure out how our appearance here will change things."

"Your thoughts?"

"If we just find the cause and get rid of the Bottle Ship, everything should go back to normal, it will be like the Ing and us were never here." Alex replied. "At least, that's what I'm hoping."

"So am I." Alvis replied.

They walked back to the group. The Conflagrant Raxeal had been defeated, and the Magma Rock was on the ground. It was a stone that just seemed to constantly radiate heat. Of course now came the hard part, of actually transferring it. It was far too hot to touch without severely burning themselves. Shulk however had gone up to the Conflagrant Raxeal's corpse and began to carve it up, eventually taking some of the parts that he cut off and wrapping it around the Magma Rock.

"With this we can drag the magma rock." Shulk said. "For the creature that was living in lava, it's skin should be durable enough to endure the heat that the magma rock lets off."

"Shulk I don't know what we'd do without you." Reyn laughed.

They just began to drag the magma rock, back towards Ose Tower. As soon as they got to the giant ice wall, they moved the magma rock right to the base of the ice crystals. The heat began to melt them. Within a few minutes all of the ice was gone. Now they all stood outside a giant door, and stared at it for several moments. "The letters are worn and difficult to make out. But it's definitely the language of the High Entia." Melia said.

"They look just like the lettering on Prison Island." Sharla said.

"I imagine that's because they're the same. Both were built by the ancient High Entia." Alex muttered underneath his breath.

"If only we could..." Dunban said, he just walked over, and lifted his arm up to push on the door, but before he even touched it the door slid open. "...just walk inside."

They all entered into the ruins and walked through a long hallway, eventually getting to a large circular room with a single table in the center. Alex just cringed. Riki also seemed to be looking around.

"Something the matter?" Noah asked.

"This room." Alex replied. "Death is everywhere."

"What do you mean?" Hayden asked. "Are we going to be attacked?"

"No," Alex shook his head and looked down grimly. "It happened in the past. A bunch of people died..."

Shulk was just looking around a bit mystified. "This place..." He said

Reyn just turned to his friend. "Something up, Shulk?"

"No.. it's just... I feel like I know this place." Shulk replied.

"Deja vu?" Dunban asked.

Shulk just shook his head. "I'm not sure, but..." He closed his eyes, and just tried to concentrate. After several seconds on trying to recall something he opened his eyes. "I thought I had it. I can't seem to recall..." On his back, the Monado began to glow.

"Are you all right?" Melia asked. As soon as she began to speak the Monado lost it's aura.

"What?" Shulk asked. "Must be tired. Don't worry."

"This is Ose Tower." Alvis said, he began to walk towards the table in the middle of the room. "Built by the high Entia to house and protect the Monado. The ceremony of seers was conducted here. It is also where the Homs found the Monado."

"Wait, you mean!" Shulk said.

"Yes." Alvis replied.

Alex just fell back and leaned against the wall everyone turned to look at him. "Sorry," Alex quickly apologized. "I just felt a bit light headed." Alex just looked around nervously. This whole place was bugging him.

"You hear them too?" Riki asked.

Alex just nodded. "Yeah..."

* * *

Alex hated the hospital, especially with being able to perceive things with Aura. He had quickly learned that the phenomenon commonly known as ghosts, was nothing more than people's lingering aura yet to fully disappear from the world. Nugai had explained that they were harmless, but that didn't help. Out of the corner of his eye he would see ghostly apparitions that no one else would. He'd try to ignore it, but after several times, he just began to break.

"I hate this place." Alex cried. "Please get me out of here."

"Sorry, I can't do that." Nugai would reply.

"You can see them, can't you?" Alex said.

Nugai just nodded. "I understand, but listen, you need the hospital to help heal you, okay? If you ever need to calm down, just close your eyes and sing to yourself, okay? You can keep your mind off of it. Okay?"

"Will that really help?" Alex asked.

Nugai just smiled. "I'm positive it will. Here, why don't I teach you a song."

* * *

Of course, nowadays with Zoroark there, he wasn't normally afraid of ghosts.

Alex just closed his eyes and began to hum a small tune. "Take a melody..." He just whispered to himself. After several moments he stopped, several of the others were looking at him. "Sorry." He quickly apologized.

"That song..." Lucas said a bit shocked. "My mother used to sing it."

"Same." Ness added in. The two psychics just glanced at each other.

"Nugai just taught it to me, to help calm myself whenever I'm scared or nervous." Alex replied. He just looked up at Riki, he was currently looking fuzzier than normal. His hair was standing on end, and was reminding Alex of a terrified cat ready to attack. He just began to swing his biter around, just getting odd looks from everyone.

"Riki come here." Alex managed to say.

Riki glanced back, and just approached him. Dunban also followed suit. "Riki, what's gotten into you?" He asked.

"Dundun." Riki replied. "Riki not like here! Riki go brrr inside and outside."

"Yes, it's bitterly cold." Dunban replied. "We should start a fire to help warm up here."

"No, Dundun not right! Riki mean something different."

Dunban just glanced at Riki, followed by Alex, Ness and Lucas. "I too have been feeling something something strange here in the air." Dunban replied. "And going by your reactions, you've also been picking up on something."

Alex just nodded. Ness and Lucas followed suit.

"I'm going to tell you a story." Dunban replied. "But first, Riki do you know anything about the Monado expedition team?"

"Alvis tell Riki some information. Shulk was one of team members. Riki was very surprised!"

Alex just nodded, Ness and Lucas were looking at him perhaps for some guidance.

Dunban just turned to them. "As visitors, I don't expect you to know, but Riki was correct. Fourteen years ago, the Monado expedition team set out to try and find the Monado."

"And they clearly succeeded." Ness said motioning towards Shulk.

"Yes." Dunban replied. "They found the Monado here in these ruins. But something happened. There was only one survivor, that person was Shulk."

"Both of his parents died?" Lucas said shocked. He looked up over at the blonde swordsman who was just currently inspecting the place.

"Shulk's daddypon and mummypon not come home?" Riki said.

"No, they did not make it back." Dunban replied. "Perhaps the Monado rejected them..."

Alex just shivered, he shook his head however no one really noticed.

"Riki been hearing voice worried about Shulk!" Riki said.

Dunban just looked at the Heropon a bit skeptical. "Is that so?" He said, deciding to believe in his comrade. "You must have an instinct for this. I don't hear a thing."

"This a special place to Shulk. Riki remember that and not kapow ghosts!"

Dunban just nodded. "Well, that was my story that I wanted to tell you."

"Thanks." Alex said.

"So, Shulk lost his parents 14 years ago..." Ness said. He just looked up in shock. "But then, that must mean he was only 5 or so years old."

"He was four." Dunban replied.

"No way." Lucas said shocked. "A lone kid all alone on this mountain. It's been cold and hard enough to traverse it like this, but if was that young how did he survive?!"

"Dickson, a friend of mine, said he had found Shulk here." Dunban replied. "And since then, he's been taking care of Shulk."

"Well, thanks for telling us that." Ness said. "At least now we know that the spirits here aren't hostile."

Dunban just walked away to rejoin his comrades.

"So you can see ghosts too?" Lucas asked Ness.

Ness just nodded. "I guess that's a side effect of psychic powers? What do you see?"

"Well, sometimes I see my mom." Lucas replied. Alex just felt his heart skip a beat at the mention of that. "And yourself Ness?"

"Well, there was some Zombies I once fought, and after I beat them, their spirits tried to haunt me for a little while, but they were gone after a few days." Ness replied. "And you Alex?"

Alex just froze. He just looked at the two of them, and they were actually a bit shaken by his appearance. He was not looking very calm.

"Hey, we know they're not hostile." Ness said trying to calm him down, he reached to touch his shoulder, but Alex just quickly slapped his hand away. Ness just looked a bit shocked. The sharp hit actually rang out and everyone glanced towards them for a few seconds. Zoroark just quickly rushed over towards Alex, and quickly wrapped himself around him. This time Alex didn't react and try to get away from him. A few of the Smashers rushed over to their side to see what was up.

"Sorry about this." Zoroark replied. "We should have known it was coming."

"Known it was coming?" Lucas questioned.

"From the game." Zoroark replied. "But, well, as you can see... Master doesn't really take well to places where people have died."

"And why's that?" Lucas asked.

"Aura." Alex whispered. "Aura has a way of making ghosts worse... I can see how people died from their aura. If they were in pain. What their state of mind was at that point, happy, sad, fearful. When someone dies, their aura freezes and stays like that until it completely vanishes."

"And how did the people in here die?" Ness asked, he quickly realized what he just said and covered his mouth in a bit of shock. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that... I can understand if you don't want to..."

"They had their life sucked out by the Monado." Alex replied. Ness and Lucas just looked at each other a bit uncomfortable. "Z, sound barrier?"

"It's been up since I got here." Zoroark replied.

Alex just nodded. "To continue living, it absorbs ether."

"To continue living?" Ness questioned.

"It's linked to someone and they are immortal through constantly absorbing ether." Alex replied. "Well, there's a bit more to it than that, but that's basically it."

"Wait, are we in danger?" Lucas asked suddenly afraid.

"We should be fine." Alex replied. "As long as we continue to act out the play... If he doesn't know, and doesn't see us as a threat, and we get out of here as soon as we deal with this, I'm positive everything will be fine."

"Who's 'he'?" Roy asked.

Alex just thought for several seconds before answering. "Actually it's probably better not to say anything. They'll take care of him, eventually. And we'll never actually meet him."

"Actually, that might be for the best." Samus said. "Master Hand always has been going on about the balance between worlds, and how we shouldn't interfere with what's supposed to happen beyond just doing our job and stuff."

"Is there actually something that stops us from trying to deviate from the plot of the games?" Noah wondered.

"I don't know." Roy replied. "Just Master Hand has said not to do it, and that the results could be disastrous."

They separated, and just tried to find any small hidden spots in Ose Tower, however it soon became apparent that it was just the single room with a long hallway.

They had started a fire to stay warm, and try and remove some of the dampness in the old tower. Several were huddled around it. Shulk on the other hand walked up to the altar.

"So, this is where the Monado was kept? My dad took it from here..." Shulk said, he turned to face Alvis. "Have you always been able to see the future? You told me you are from a long line of seers. Did you have the ability from birth?"

Alvis just walked up to the table and lightly brushed his hand against it. "Once, I too came into contact with the Monado." He said. "Those that are to be seers must touch the Monado. And a chosen few receive our power. That is the ceremony of my family."

"And the ceremony was held right here." Shulk said.

Alvis just began to walk away from Shulk and back towards the fire, before turning around and facing the young Homs. "Shulk, why do you think we can see the future?" He asked.

Shulk looked a bit shocked at the question. "I hadn't really thought about it. After I grabbed the Monado, I just saw things."

"Your visions are the flow of ether itself." Alvis explained. "Ether is the very source of our world's existence. Where and how much ether there exists now, and in the future can be predicted. Therefore, in principle, the future of living beings such as us can also be predicted."

"And that would also be why I can't see the future for the Ing and the Smashers, right?" Shulk said.

"Right." Alvis replied. "As beings not of this world, they exist outside of some of our rules. I imagine they don't have the necessary amount of ether in their body that would allow us to read their movements."

Alex was huddled around the fire with Zoroark and the other Smashers. Alex was just staring at the Monado. "I wonder." He said.

"Wonder what?" Zoroark asked.

"If Shulk becomes a Smasher," Alex replied. "Would his visions still be as powerful?"

Hayden just glanced over at him. "I can see what you mean. His visions would be a great thing to have with the Smashers. We might be able to find out what's happening and prevent these disasters."

Alex just nodded. "But if it runs off of ether, and he hasn't had any visions of us, there's no way that he can have visions out there in other worlds, right?"

"Guess there is only one way to really find out." Saki said. "If he joins us, and has visions."

"Still, he can't join us until his journey is over." Alex said.

"Yeah, I don't know what we'd do without Shulk around." Reyn said. "Well, a few of us would probably be dead, myself included. Actually why don't I tell you everything that's happened to us so far."

A few of the Smashers agreed. Ness seemed rather excited for a campfire story. Alex however just focused his attention on Alvis and Shulk's conversation.

"There is the possibility." Alvis said. "There is one thing that makes possible the visualization of those predictions."

"You mean the Monado."

"The Monado can disrupt the ether, allowing you to release certain powers. Which means?" Alvis asked.

"My visions, under the same principle, are there to disrupt the future." Shulk replied.

"With no one to control the outcome, the future will never change." Alvis said. "But what if someone were to disrupt the future? What then?"

Shulk just walked towards Alvis. "The future would be changed. Is that how Zanza planned to defeat the Mechonis? But why go to such lengths? What happened all those years ago?"

"Okay, now I'm lost." Noah cried out, actually shocking Alex.

"What? I was attacked by a giant spider. What's so hard to understand about that?" Reyn replied.

"No, I don't mean your story, I was listening to Alvis and Shulk talking." Noah said.

The two just glanced over at the mention of their names. Reyn, on the other hand, just looked rather devastated.

"Just continue your story." Ness said. "I'm listening."

"I'm still confused." Noah said, "Who's Zanza?"

Alex just nodded, he understood that it probably was a lot for someone who had just been thrown into this world. Of course he deduced that he couldn't explain it without raising a lot of suspicion.

Luckily, Riki was sitting beside Noah. "Zanza is a giant that said he made the Monado."

"Okay." Noah said nodding.

"I would have gotten to that part eventually." Reyn said.

"Reyn not good story teller." Riki replied. "Reyn putting Riki to sleep. Alvis and Shulk's conversation of exposition is much more interesting."

Reyn just glared at Riki.

Alvis just let off a small chuckle. "Shulk, did you think it was just a myth?"

Shulk quickly sighed, before answering: "I used to only believe in what I could see. My home, my friends, the Monado itself. I knew those things were real."

Alvis just walked towards the fire. "But when you took the Monado in your hand, you gained the ability to see that which was not meant to be seen."

"Are you saying I should stop?" Shulk asked.

"You are a fluctuation. As a fluctuation, you exist outside the results of your predictions." Alvis said. "The more you accept this existence, the more malleable the world becomes. In fact, you have no choice but to accept it."

"What do you mean by that?" Shulk asked.

"You will understand in time." Alvis replied.

There wasn't a whole lot else to do, Reyn continued his story, and they just eventually all fell asleep. Or at least were trying.

Alex couldn't fall asleep. He just stood up, and went to walk out of the tower. "Cant' sleep?" A voice said. Alex jumped a bit and saw Shulk leaning against the wall.

"Yeah, this floor isn't really comfortable." Alex sighed. "I also felt like I needed some fresh air."

Shulk just nodded. "Okay then. We should probably go in pairs so you don't get lost and aren't attacked by anything."

"It was one time." Alex muttered. "But fine, there was some things I wanted to talk to you about."

Shulk just nodded. They just walked out of Ose Tower and into the clearing that was right in front of it. "Here's fine." Alex said.

"So you won't get lost?" Shulk joked.

"Ha ha ha." Alex dryly laughed. "No, I just needed some fresh air. I could have stepped out by myself, but, like I said, there was a few things I wanted to talk to you about."

Shulk just nodded. "Okay."

"Can I see the Monado?" Alex asked.

Shulk just looked a bit shocked, and hesitant. "I'm the only Homs that is able to wield it. Well, that's not true. Alvis used it, and Dunban used to be able to, before it crippled him. And if it goes berserk while you're holding it, it can now cut through people. I also don't want it to cripple you if it rejects you."

Alex just nodded. "That's fair. I understand." He figured it would be a long-shot, but he wanted to at least try it. "It's just, I have questions. You and Alvis were talking about how you used the Monado to see the future."

"Yes." Shulk replied. "Do you wish to see the future."

"Yes and no." Alex replied. "Part of me wants to, see the future, and be prepared for the trials that are coming up, the other part of me is afraid of what I'll see. If I won't like it, or if I start actively going against that future that I see, then I will make it worse or something."

Shulk just nodded. "I understand where you're coming from." He said. "It's a bit difficult. The power to see the future is a dangerous weapon. But, my visions at times are just fragments. At first nothing is clear. I see bits and pieces. And then, if I'm lucky, I'll get visions later that will help clarify. If not, well I try and figure everything out from what I was given. But it's not always easy, situations are out of context."

Alex just nodded.

"Before I found out I could wield the Monado, I was researching it. Trying to figure out it's secrets." Shulk explained. "Since using it, I've learned so many new things about it, and I'm sure I'll find out other things later too. To be honest, I do want to know if you're able to wield the Monado. Since you're from another world." Shulk said. He just took it and put it into some of the snow. "You can try, just I'm going to stand back in case you can't. Or you could turn "

Alex just let off a weak laugh. "Okay. I'll try." He just walked forwards and reached out for the Monado. He then froze and just stared at it. He knew it's power, and that he would have to have his will overpower the will that was in the Monado. If he could wield it, maybe he could also see the future with it. With that thought in mind he grabbed the sword and just swung it around a few times. Despite it's looks, it was light. Alex had imagined it would be much heavier, but no it was light, he felt like it was perhaps just a little bit heavier than a chef's knife. He swung it a few times, just cutting through the air.

"And now for the hard part." Alex sighed. "Activating and controlling it..."

He just wished for it to open, and it did, the laser shot out. Alex just stared at it for several seconds. Since his body wasn't frantically moving, he figured that it was currently under his control. In his mind, he definitely felt something that was pushing at him. It felt familiar, sort of like a mental attack.

"Amazing, you can control the Monado." Shulk said.

Alex just nodded. "It would appear so."

"But I've seen so many others lose control of their body. The Monado rejects them..."

"I've been trained to keep control of my body if something tries to take it over." Alex nervously laughed.

* * *

Nugai had trained him in a few other things besides aura. If there was one thing that Nugai was afraid of, and had always drilled into Alex, it was someone taking control of him at any moment.

"The training is easy." Nugai said, holding a stick. "I'm just going to use this magical baton to do the command melody. You're going to have to fight to get back control of your body."

Alex just nodded. He didn't actually believe that could happen, but all of a sudden he was Nugai's puppet. Running around the beach, doing cartwheels, jumping into the water off of the docks, climbing trees or just sitting perfectly still. No matter what he didn't have control over his body. And the worse part about it was, as part of the training, Nugai would do it at any time. They could be eating lunch in a fast food restaurant, and suddenly his body just froze. Nugai would just make Alex go up and get a refill of a drink, or get some more ketchup for his fries.

But soon he learned how to resist, and made it almost second nature, just like Aura. Nugai just laughed. "Crap, guess I can't get you to go and get my drinks for me now. But the training didn't end there. He could resist it, but he needed to be able to stop anyone from entering period. To him it just seemed Nugai was extremely paranoid of this one thing.

* * *

"I see, well, maybe that makes sense. You're able to stop the Monado's influence." Shulk theorized.

Alex just nodded. "Although, I'm kind of disappointed that I haven't had any visions yet. How do those work?" Alex laughed.

"To be honest with me they just happen." Shulk said. "When I meet someone new, or when I'm in danger. I sometimes am able to will it."

Alex just held the Monado above him and pointed it up into the sky. He closed his eyes. "_All right you stupid sword, show me the future!_" He thought. He forced his will into the sword, and suddenly images flashed into his mind.

* * *

There was a child like robot, wearing blue armor. "I'm Rock, but you can call me MegaMan!"

* * *

A white haired man just closed a book that he was reading.

* * *

A man was constantly weaving in and out, throwing punches, and shadow boxing.

* * *

A boy was sitting beside a yellow anthropomorphic dog. In front of them, on a stage, was a white dog that was currently playing on the guitar.

* * *

From the shadows Greninja appeared. On it's forearms were two water blades.

* * *

"I want you to breath in deeply." A woman said. Her skin was like white ceramic. "Your far too tense. Just relax."

* * *

There was a woman sitting in a rocking chair, floating around her was several star like creatures. She just smiled.

* * *

There was a green haired woman walking down a hallway, she seemed to have this heavenly aura around her.

* * *

There was a swordswoman with long hair and wearing a mask. She was pointing her sword straight ahead. "For the sake of the future, I must stop you!"

* * *

Shulk was just standing in front of them. "I'm here to help!"

* * *

There was a yellow dot.

* * *

A black angel just aimed his staff right at Pit.

* * *

"DAAAD!" A voice shouted out. Something was falling down rather fast.

* * *

A dog just popped out of some grass and began to laugh, while pointing straight ahead. A duck landed on its head.

* * *

A man wearing a white fighting gi, and had a red headband around his head. On his hands there were red gloves.

* * *

There was another blue robot, wearing much more advanced armor. Beside him was another robot who had a beam sword, and appeared to have long blonde hair.

* * *

There was a red and white helmeted person. He had a yellow scarf around his neck and a shield on his back.

* * *

There was someone in red, black and yellow. Across his chest and on the mask that covered his face there was a yellow thunderbolt.

* * *

There was a pale man with white hair, and a red and gold cape. He was just swinging a sword.

* * *

"Of course we can't let you come here on your own." Dunban said. "Fiora would be rather upset if anything happened to you."

"Riki here to help Shulk too!" Riki shouted bouncing up and down. "Shulk need Heropon's help!"

* * *

There was a rather muscled man in a black fighting gi. He had his black hair spiked up in two different directions.

* * *

There was a man dressed in white and a red vest. His black hair was up in a pony tail. He had a sword at his side.

* * *

There was yet another person in a black fighting Gi. This person had a white headband around his black hair. He was currently having what appeared to be a friendly spar with a blonde haired man who had a red and black leather jacket and black leather pants on.

* * *

There was yet another blue robotic looking person. His helmet had brown hair sticking out from behind it.

* * *

A rather muscular man was swinging around a giant sword. Beside him was a woman who seemed to become lightning.

* * *

There was a young girl wearing a red dress. She had large black hair in two large ponytails, a gold crown, and was holding a scepter.

* * *

There was a person with a silver helmet, wearing a black jacket, and orange pants.

* * *

A red ball was rolling alongside a blue ball.

* * *

There were two kids. One had blue hair tied up in a top knot. The other had two long orange pig tails.

"I'm Ink, and this is my sister Ika!"

* * *

There as a third person who looked similar to the other two kids and was now standing beside them. The only major difference that Alex was able to quickly see was that he had green hair.

"This is our third team member, Levi."

* * *

"Eheheh." There was a rather creepy laugh.

* * *

There were five anthropomorphic pink and yellow birds.

* * *

There was another swordsman with blue hair. The most noticeable thing about him was a brand on his right bicep.

* * *

There was a young boy in a red vest and a pink cape. "I was wondering if you would tell me about your adventures, you are an adventurer right?" he said.

* * *

There was a person in black and rather large intimidating armor, and a red cape.

* * *

There was what looked like a scarecrow.

* * *

There was a laughing crocodile.

* * *

There was another swordsman, this person wielded two swords and was dressed in red. Two white streamers followed behind him. He just jumped into the air and cut off an arm of what appeared to be a giant black four armed skeleton.

* * *

A blonde haired, young man was driving on a motorcycle. On his back was a giant sword.

* * *

There were two people. Both in identical silver armor and white hair. They both had white hair, and wore a blue cape. One was a young man. While the other was a young woman. They both had what appeared to be a chainsaw sword.

* * *

There was a woman in a nun's habit. She pulled out some guns. "Let's dance boys!"

* * *

The next thing Alex knew was that he was being shaken. He opened his eyes, he was lying on the ground, Shulk, Noah, Hayden, and Sharla were all staring down at him.

"Hey, are you okay?" Noah asked.

Alex just nodded a bit confused. "What just happened?"

"You collapsed after holding the Monado." Shulk said, pointing at the sword that was now on his back.

"I collapsed?" Alex said confused.

"Did you receive a vision?" Shulk asked.

Alex just sat there confused. "I think so, but they were all so fragmented and short... I wasn't able to make heads or tails out of it."

They all just looked at Alex. "What did you see?" Hayden said. "Maybe we can help you figure it out."

"I think I just saw the completed Smash Brothers Roster..." Alex replied.

Both Hayden and Noah looked at him in a bit of shock. "Such knowledge, shouldn't be taken lightly." Noah said.

"You could rule the internet for a few days with that..." Hayden laughed. "Tell me, did you see Ridley?"

"No, I'd think I'd remember something that big..." Alex laughed.

"Are you joking?"

"Maybe." Alex teased.

"Jerk..."

"But, Shulk, I definitely know what you mean now by visions being fragments and hard to figure out." Alex sighed. "There were so many different things happening in quick succession, I was only able to focus on one or two details of the people I saw. What do you do after a vision?"

"Well, I used to just think it over just by myself, but that proved to be a bit problematic." Shulk replied. "Reyn has since told me that no matter what, I had to tell everyone what visions I just saw. And we'd talk it over, and try to figure it out."

Hayden suddenly seemed rather excited. Alex suddenly realized, and dreaded the fact that he was going to have to spill out everything that he saw.

After Sharla had done a few quick checks, they got back into the tower, and just lied down on the ground, with the intent of falling asleep. Or at least as well as they could, since it turned out that Reyn snored. Loudly.

After several minutes of just being uncomfortable, since they were sleeping on a stone floor, and being unable to drown out Reyn's snoring, it was becoming clear that they were going to have difficulty falling asleep.

Realizing that the other two weren't yet asleep, Hayden whispered. "But seriously who all did you see?"

"I don't know." Alex sighed. "Some of it I was able to make out. But others were rather abstract, like there was one that was just a single yellow dot. There was a red ball and blue ball rolling along."

"But what makes you think it was the Smash roster?"

"Well, it started off with MegaMan, Little Mac, Villager, Greninja, Wii Fit Trainer, and Rosalina." Alex said. "The ones that have been announced, I feel like it showing other characters, it would make sense that they were Smashers. But there were a few that I could make out them speaking. For example: Ink, Ika and Levi, but those names don't exactly ring a bell. But I definitely could make out Shulk, Dunban and Riki."

"Ika?" Hayden said a bit confused. "Isn't that just the Japanese word for squid?"

Alex activated the Samus card, a holographic monitor appeared. Within a few seconds, the word Ika was displayed on the screen and then showed that it was indeed the Japanese word for squid.

"That still doesn't exactly help." Alex said. "I didn't recognize them from any games or anything."

They discussed it a bit longer, the only major revelation that came afterwards was that Alex realized what he saw wasn't exclusive to just fighters, but also assist trophies, as he realized that he had seen Ashley and Elecman, and he remembered them from the Smash Bros Direct. As for everything else, Alex did his best to recall what he saw, but it was suddenly becoming much more difficult. Hayden had suggested writing everything down, or at least the ones that he remembered. However that plan was doused when none of them had a pen or paper. Defeated, they just fell asleep, just hoping that they could remember the ones Alex had described.

* * *

_Lucas was in a dark cave. He could see a cliff, and down below there was what looked like storm clouds that were occasionally illuminated by flashes of lightning. Behind him were three others that he recognized from Tazamilly. A girl with pink hair, a rather rugged looking middle aged man, and his dog Boney._

_They just walked through the cave, until they came to a large circular platform. In the middle there was what appeared to be a strange glowing sword that was stuck in the ground._

_And in front of it was someone about Lucas' height, wearing a black jacket, and orange pants. And a helmet that obscured his face. He was currently bowing, on one knee, in front of the sword._

_They just walked up to him, and he stood up and turned around. His face was emotionless. He drew a sword, and then lightning struck Lucas' three companions, knocking them out. However, the lightning was redirected from Lucas right towards the Masked Man, because of a badge that Lucas had on._

_The Masked Man staggered back, shocked by the reflected attack. And then, he continued to attack Lucas. But no matter what Lucas couldn't fight back. He just healed as the Masked Man continued his assault._

Lucas woke up, gasping for air. His hand grabbed his chest, he could feel his heart beating a mile a minute. He just looked around in the darkness. It took him a few seconds to gather his bearings, once he remembered where they were, his second fear took over. He looked around to see if anyone else was still awake.

He could hear some rather loud snoring, which made him a bit afraid, since someone else might be awake from the snoring and see him.

But it took him a few seconds to notice that no one else was awake. He just tried to lie down once again, but that was when Ness' eyes bolted open.

"You're up?" Ness said.

"Yeah... I just woke up from a nightmare..." Lucas admitted.

Ness just nodded. "I've got to go take a leak." He said.

At the mention of that, Lucas realized that he also had to go to the washroom. The two just got up and walked out of Ose tower. A few moments later after they had finished their business they got back in and lied down.

"What nightmare was it?" Ness asked.

"The usual one." Lucas replied. "I don't know who that person is... why do I keep seeing it?"

Ness just shook his head. "I don't know." He replied.

Lucas just grabbed a badge that was on his clothes. He held it in his hand.

"I always see you with that badge..." Ness said.

Lucas just looked at Ness. "My brother and I found it." he replied. "I just keep it as a reminder that he's always there with me. Ever since he disappeared."

Ness just nodded. "I'm sure you'll find him one day. And he'll be surprised to see how much you've changed."

Lucas just blushed. "Yeah, you're right." He smiled. The two of them just drifted off to sleep soon after.

* * *

In the morning, they all walked out of the tower. "Good morning. Did we sleep well?" Alvis asked.

"I can't feel my face or feet. What do you think?" Reyn asked.

"Reyn not tell truth! Reyn's snoring make Riki think of Orluga!" Riki chimed in.

"Oi! I don't snore!" Reyn quickly shouted.

"I think we can all attest that you do." Alex yawned. "You kept me awake all night."

Alvis just laughed. "Anyways, Sword Valley is just around the corner. Please follow me." He began to walk away. Everyone followed except for Dunban, who just stood still for a few moments, before following them.

"Is something wrong, Dunban?" Shulk asked rushing back to his companion.

"Just everything, I guess." Dunban replied. "I've just been thinking about the time I wielded the Monado, and everything else. That Mechon that seems to know me."

"Metal Face." Shulk said.

"With Fiora piloting a Mechon, I've just been trying to piece everything together. I suspect I know who Metal Face is. His moves were just like Mumkhar's." Dunban said.

"I last saw him before the battle at Sword Valley one year ago." Shulk said. "I thought he died."

"Same." Dunban replied.

"What happened during that battle?" Shulk asked.

"He deserted us in the middle of battle. While Dickson and I were surrounded by a bunch of Mechon. It was then that the Monado rejected me." Dunban said.

Shulk just nodded. "You said that you never had visions while wielding the Monado, right?"

Dunban just nodded. "Right."

"Something doesn't add up then." Shulk said. "When Alvis, myself, and Alex held the Monado we were able to see the future. Why weren't you able to?"

"Well, didn't Alvis say yesterday that only a chosen few could see visions from the Monado."

"You were listening to our conversation?" Shulk said a bit shocked.

"Who wasn't? But, I think it was something else. It might be because I only really ever used it as a sword." Dunban replied. "A weapon that could beat the Mechon, and nothing else."

Shulk just nodded.

"I still want to say it was controlling me." Dunban said. "It has a mind of it's own, and it didn't want me to have access to it's ability to see the future. Maybe it just saw me as another Homs, and our interests just aligned for a little bit."

Shulk just nodded, recalling that day he saw Dunban being carried in by a stretcher with the wounded. The words that he had said to Shulk rang out. Even then, Dunban had insisted that the Monado was controlling him.

The Smashers were walking up ahead, Lucas and Ness had constant plumes of PK Fire out to help warm them and a few nearby people. Melia also had summoned some flares to also help warm up everyone.

Riki was on top of Reyn, hanging off his back. Reyn was however getting rather frustrated with him. "Oi, furball!" Reyn shouted frustrated. "Why are you on me."

"Riki didn't get sleep from Reyn's snoring." Riki replied. "Reyn must take responsibility and carry Riki, because Riki too tired."

Reyn just grumbled something underneath his breath.

Roy was holding his sword out in front of him. The Sword of Seals was letting off some heat.

They had made their way through twisting paths and finally made it to a large open field. The only thing across the field were large crystals that were reflecting the sunlight, and the odd rock spire.

Across the sky the saw a silver Mechon known as Nemesis coming towards them. "That Mechon!" Shulk said.

Alex just cringed. "So we're here..." He muttered.

The Mechon flew right into an open field of snow and Shulk ran towards it. He gasped for air, and stood just in front of it. The chest compartment opened, and inside it was a blonde woman about 18 years old. She just looked down at Shulk.

"It is you." Shulk said walking closer.

"Hey, that's Fiora!" Reyn shouted. Him and Dunban began to run towards the Mechon. Melia, and Sharla followed. Alvis however had frozen in place. He was staring at Firoa in shock.

"Lady Meyneth?" He whispered.

"Everyone, stay back." Alex whispered. "We're going to be ambushed soon."

"What?" Hayden said.

"A boss battle is going to happen soon." Alex said.

"With this one? They seem so familiar..."

"Not with Fiora." Alex said. "Someone else is coming. Just get ready. Zoroark, can you make us disappear."

"Right." Zoroark said. An illusion of a blizzard just concealed them.

Fiora was looking down at Shulk. "Young Heir to the Monado." She said. "We meet again."

"Fiora!" Shulk said.

"Fiora?" the woman in the Mechon said. "Is that my name? Then you... You know this body?"

Shulk just looked devastated. "So it's true. You really don't remember us at all." He clenched his fist and closed his eyes. He quickly looked up at her and pleaded. "Fiora, listen! If nothing else, you must remember your family!" He pointed his finger towards Dunban who was behind him. "That's Dunban over there! Your brother!"

"Family?" Fiora said. "There is family... Wielder of the Monado, there is a matter I must speak to you about."

However out of nowhere an energy cannon shot at Fiora and knocked Nemesis back into a rock spike, and then to the ground. "Fiora!" Shulk shouted.

"What was that?!" Reyn asked. They all turned from the origin of the blast to see another Mechon flying towards them. This one was mostly black, and was known to them all as Metal Face. It landed in front of Shulk, but had it's long claws right around Nemesis' Mechon body.

"Metal Face!" Shulk said, as he reached for the Monado perched on his back.

"Stay alert!" Dunban said.

"You killed my father!" Melia shouted.

"Get him!" Reyn shouted, leading Dunban, and Melia in towards him.

"Get away from her!" Shulk shouted.

"Now, now, let's all calm down." Metal Face said. "If I slip, I might mess up her hair."

"You!" Shulk spat.

"You're disgusting!" Melia said.

"Would you be so kind and hand over that dangerous toy you have?" Metal Face asked. "I could take it after I smash you all to a pulp. Hahaha. But we wouldn't want that, would we?"

Shulk just retracted the Monado. "All right. You can have it. But only if you let her go." He stabbed the red sword into the ground and backed away with his hands up in the air.

Metal Face just laughed evilly. "There's a good boy. Always eager to please, Shulk."

Metal Face's chest opened, revealing a homs head and Mechon armor. He had long black greasy hair. There were black metal pieces across his face. "How's it going Dunban?" the homs asked. He jumped down off of Metal Face and began to walk towards the Monado.

"Mumkhar!" Dunban said.

Mumkhar just grabbed the Monado and pulled it out of the ground. He hoisted it over his shoulder and just looked at everyone. He began to walk past Shulk to go directly towards Dunban.

"I thought it might be, but you're to blame for all this?" Dunban said.

Mumkhar had walked right in front of Dunban and just looked at him with a rather smug look. "I can't tell you how badly I've wanted this sword!" He glanced over at Shulk. "Has this puny boy even figured out how it works yet?" He just lifted Shulk's chin up with his mechanical hand. "What are you willing to do?" His grip switched to holding Shulk by the neck and lifting him up off of the ground. "Would you even kill a Homs to beat us?"

Dunban just drew his sword. "You dare ask that of us. Why did you betray us to the Mechonis?" Mumkhar just glanced back and threw Shulk on the ground. "Why did you kill our friends at the colony? Why?!"

Mumkhar just faced Dunban. "You wanna know?" He laughed. "Because it's your home."

"You piece of..." Dunban began to rush towards Mumkhar, however Metal Face suddenly lifted Nemesis up and impaled his claws into the Mechon. Dunban and Shulk just froze in their tracks.

"Stay where you are." Mumkhar ordered. "That thing works by remote." The other hand's claws were dangerously close to Fiora. "So unless you want me to put a hole in her neck..."

"You coward." Dunban said.

"So what's it to be weaklings? Grovel at my feet and beg?" Mumkhar laughed.

Melia however had her hand behind her back and was preparing an ether attack. "We will not bow to you!" She shouted sending the wave of ether right at Mumkhar, knocking the Monado out of his hand and into the air. The wave of ether also continued, until it hit the back of Metal Face and exploded, knocking Metal Face down to the ground. Shulk had gotten back the Monado, and quickly activated it.

"Melly hit bad guy in face!" Riki said.

"You'll pay for that Princess!" Mumkhar shouted, activating several metal claws that glowed with a red light from his robotic hands.

"You're a traitor, Mumkhar. And you're not getting away." Dunban said pointing his sword at him.

Mumkhar began by rushing towards Shulk.

He swung his claws, however Shulk blocked the attacks with the Monado. Mumkhar knew that as long as he was keeping Shulk occupied, he couldn't enchant everyone's weapons, as they would just bounce off his Mechon body otherwise, and then the only thing he had to worry about was Melia's ether but she wouldn't use it with him in such a close range to Shulk.

Alex just turned to Alvis. "You stopped us from interfering with the last battle." Alex said. "Are you going to stop us here?"

Alvis just looked forwards at the battle. "I'd prefer it, but... it seems there are others with other plans." He just pointed to a crystal, and a dark fog seemed to be gathering there.

"Crap..." Alex muttered. "Ing!"

Hayden just pounded his fist into the palm of his hand. "All right." He said. "I'm ready to fight."

"Same." Noah added on.

Alex just nodded and began to run forwards towards Mumkhar. He was still attacking Shulk.

"You're weak!" Mumkhar laughed. "You can't even do anything you don't enchant everyone's weapons!"

Dunban just rushed for Mumkhar, and quickly attacked, actually leaving a scratch of damage on the Mechon's body. Dunban's sword, the inaccurately named 'Anti-Mechon Glaive', was a katana that Dickson had made out of Mechon scrap metal, and was actually capable of hurting Mechon, without the need for enchantments.

"Shulk, enchant everyone's weapons!" Dunban shouted. "I'll hold him off!"

"Right!" Shulk said. He got back, and the Monado began to glow. "Monado Enchant!"

A wave of blue light spread out across everyone, causing everyone's weapons to glow with a blue light.

Mumkhar jumped back to avoid a slash by Dunban. He just looked around and noticed the much larger group. "What the hell is this?" He shouted.

Alex just held out his beam sword and looked towards at Mumkhar. "We're just here to help Shulk beat the crap out of you."

Saki rushed forwards towards Mumkhar and slashed his cannon sword at him. Mumkhar blocked the attack, however Saki followed up with a kick into his side. The kick was actually strong enough to send Mumkhar sliding several feet back.

He was then assaulted by a volley of ether from Melia. Psychic attacks from Ness and Lucas. Or shots from Sharla, Samus, and Noah.

"What the hell is this?" Mumkhar repeated. "This isn't going to end the way you think it will!" Metal Face began to move again, it quickly disabled Nemisis with a few claw swipes and then moved over to Mumkhar's side.

"Oh crap, he can multitask! Whatever shall we do?" Roy laughed. "We still outnumber you!" He began to run towards Metal Face and swung his sword of seals at it. Metal Face swung it's claws, and the two collided. Roy however was sent sliding back. "Damn that thing hits like a truck."

Isaac just laughed. "So, it's not just some weak thing. Good!" He began to rush forwards using psynergy to cause several spires to shoot up and try and cause the giant Mechon to topple over. However it was quick to readjust itself.

"Oi, furball, while they're distracted do you want to do something?" Reyn asked.

"Depends." Riki replied.

"Just follow me!" Reyn said.

"I'll go with you." Zoroark said. "You'll need some cover."

Hayden had rushed towards Mumkhar. Despite the close range he began to punch and kick him. Alex was actually a bit shocked. Hayden just delivered an uppercut right to Mumkhar's chin, causing Mumkhar to stagger around. After that he quickly backed away. "Despite your body being mostly machinery, it seems there are still a few parts of you that are still human..."

"Homs." Alex quickly corrected, as he rushed in and slashed Mumkhar with his beam sword. "But where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Eh, here or there." Hayden shrugged it off.

Saki had focused his attention on Metal Face. He just ran towards the giant robot. With every slash of his giant claws, Saki was able to counter with a swing of his cannon sword. "Is that all!?" Saki shouted. "Come on, this is rather disappointing."

Samus had also migrated over to fighting Metal Face. "My guess is that it's not really true multitasking." She said. "It might just be an AI that will attack us. He just activated it remotely." She fired several missiles and super missiles at the Mechon. They hit and began to chip away a bit of the armor.

With Reyn, Zoroark and Riki they had reached Nemesis, and quickly got to the cockpit, where Fiora was still inside, although unconscious from Mumkhar's surprise attack. Reyn just reached down and tried to lift her up. He struggled, and was unable to lift her up. "Fiora, you've put on a bit of weight..."

"I'd imagine because a good portion of her body is metal now." Zoroark pointed out.

"I know that!" Reyn snapped. "Now can you help me get her out of here?!"

Zoroark just grabbed her legs while Reyn tried to lift up her torso. However they failed, her Mechon body was too heavy for them.

"Riki can you help too?" Reyn asked.

Riki however just pulled out his biter. "Reyn, those shadow creatures!"

They didn't notice that the Ing had sneaked up and had surrounded them. Zoroark quickly began to slash through them, the Monado's enchantment having worked on it to.

"We need to get out of here!" Zoroark said.

"And leave behind Fiora?" Reyn asked. "I won't do that."

Several Ing rushed towards Reyn, he used his Gunlance to block the attack's from their spiked forelegs. Several Ing turned into darkness and tried to go into Fiora, however a red aura appeared around her, and forced them out. The same happened with Ing that tried to go into Nemesis.

"Sorry, but she's safe for right now." Zoroark said. "We need to help everyone beat Mumkhar, and Metal Face then we can all get her out."

Reyn just nodded. "You're right, let's go!"

They rushed back to the fight. The Mechon Metal Face had been disabled. Mumkhar had been backed into a corner. He was surrounded on all sides. There were noticeable dents in his armor, and it looked like it was leaking oil onto the snow, along with the occasional spark of electricity that was coming out from under his metal.

"Just who the hell are you people?" Mumkhar growled. "You must of been what that man was talking about. Visitors from another world."

"Yeah, we are." Alex replied.

"Then you know exactly what's going to happen, don't you?" Mumkhar laughed.

Alex just stood there. "Yes."

"And you still are with them..." Mumkhar said.

Suddenly several Ing appeared around Mumkhar.

"Those things again?" Reyn said annoyed.

The Ing began to go into Mumkhar, and Metal Face, they were strengthening, and repairing the two of them.

"Oh, this is power!" Mumkhar laughed. "Dunban, I feel like I can tear you apart! I feel like I can take all of you on!"

"Crap." Samus muttered.

A dark aura surrounded Mumkhar. Shulk just brought the Monado down, however it seemed like the aura canceled the Monado's power, not even scratching it. "What?!" Shulk said confused as the Monado bounced off of Mumkhar.

"The Monado isn't working against him again?!" Reyn shouted shocked.

"Oh, looks like you went and got the Monado powered up for no reason." Mumkhar laughed. Dunban just rushed towards Mumkhar and slashed him with his sword. However upon contact the aura that was around the sword instantly disappeared.

Dunban just got back, and everyone suddenly kept their distance from Mumkhar.

"How the tables have turned." Mumkhar taunted. "Now that you can't hurt me. Doesn't this look familiar Shulk, Dunban? Of course no one is going to come out of nowhere and save you with a mobile artillery this time!"

Saki, Isaac, and Roy had focused their attention back onto the repaired Metal Face. Isaac just used some Ragnarok Psynergy, sending giant energy swords into Metal Face. However as soon as they vanished, Metal Face just was instantly repaired.

"That shouldn't be possible." Isaac said.

"What shouldn't be?" Saki asked.

"The Ing instantly repairing that mech." Isaac replied. "It, can't just repair it without getting new metal."

"Well, maybe it's just pushing back the old metal." Saki replied. "Not replacing it with new metal."

"I guess that is always a possibility." Isaac admitted.

Metal Face swung towards them with his claws. All three tried to block but were forced back by the strength of the swing.

"Seems like it got stronger." Roy said.

"Or the Ing is overclocking it, and it's fighting without safety limits." Saki suggested.

Samus was shooting at Mumkhar with her arm cannon. Constantly blasting him, but it was doing next to nothing.

"The Ing, could they have evolved?" Samus questioned. "Since the last time I fought them?"

"Possibly." Alex said. "Didn't they need to quickly possess things in other worlds, otherwise they would be destroyed?"

"That's right." Samus said. "Still if they gained immunity over the Monado..."

"It could just be because the Monado only has power over things in this world. To others, it might just be a normal beam sword." Alex theorized. "So it's effects to the Ing are nothing."

"Well, in that case, let me try this! Monado Purge!" Shulk shouted jumping up into the air. He slashed and sent a wave of energy from the Monado towards Mumkhar. Mumkhar however was easily able to avoid the attack.

"Monado Purge?" Alex questioned.

"It worked when we found some other creatures possessed by these things." Shulk replied.

"Of course, I'm not stupid enough to let you hit me with that." Mumkhar laughed.

Alex just pulled out the Samus card and quickly activated it. "Okay, let's figure this out!" He said. Looking at Mumkhar and it began to scan him.

Metal Face had transformed into an alternate vehicle mode and was now flying around, avoiding Saki's constant gunshots. Roy and Isaac were unable to do nothing to counter this. It just turned to face them and aimed the large cannon that was on it's back at them. Energy began to surge around the cannon and then it fired.

Upon hitting, it created a large explosion of darkness that began to spread out, and suck things in towards them. "What just happened?!" Saki shouted.

Samus turned her attention to the giant sphere of darkness that appeared. She just looked rather shocked at it. "It's just like a portal to Dark Aether." She said.

Alex turned to the dark sphere and began to scan it. After several seconds he turned to Samus. "I think that's because it is." He replied. "At least the scan's are saying it's the same thing, and it's bringing up examples of those portals... It's basically saying it's ripping a hole in time and space. But thankfully it seems extremely unstable, and is unable to sustain itself."

They watched as the portal shrunk and then disappeared, but not before about a hundred Ing had emerged.

Everyone but Shulk who was fighting Mumkhar alone just faced the Ing and began to fight them. Thankfully the Monado's enchantment still seemed to be doing damage to the base creatures themselves. It was only with Mumkhar that it didn't work.

"Saki, Isaac! Now is not the time for any more reservations!" Alex shouted. "Do what you can to disable it!"

Saki just let off a heavy sigh. "Yeah, now you tell us." He muttered. "Listen, Isaac, with the Ing, I don't think I can transform without them taking me over, and we don't want three people to fight do we."

"So, what you're saying is I don't get to kill you today?" Isaac laughed.

"Ha ha ha ha.." Saki dryly replied. "No. Now go out there and do it yourself."

Isaac just nodded and began to run towards Metal Face. Around him four Venus Djinn appeared, transformed into energy, and then he transformed into Judgment. He flew up towards Metal Face and swung his sword, cutting off the cannon, before stabbing his sword right through the Mechon and then aiming the Lion's head right at the Mechon. A burst of energy came out of the Lion's mouth and exploded around Metal Face, causing the Mechon to crash to the ground, far too badly damaged.

Isaac landed on the ground and transformed back into his normal self. He just faced the wreckage of Metal Face. Several more Ing tried to get in it to repair it, however they quickly just got out and disappeared.

Saki just gave Isaac a reassuring slap on the back. "Looks like it's beyond repair, at least for the Ing..."

Isaac let off a heavy sigh. "Yeah." He began to fall forwards, exhausted. Saki and Roy quickly caught him. "And that's why I don't normally fuse with my summons, takes too much out of me." He weakly muttered.

"Well, at least he got the job done." Roy said. "Would have been better if he killed that guy in the process but..."

Mumkhar was aggressively attacking all of the Smashers, and dodging each of Shulk's attempts at Monado Purge. Due to the Ing, Shulk was unable to see any visions, and Mumkhar was using his experience in battle against Shulk. "You really are weak without the Monado!" Mumkhar taunted, having pushed him further and further away from the group.

"Is there any other way to get the Ing out of him besides Monado Purge?" Alex asked.

Samus just glanced at him. "Why are you asking me?"

"You're the one with the most experience fighting against them."

"Well I drove them to extinction!" Samus pointed out. "Any documentation that the Galactic Federation has just says they were a threat on par with the Metroids."

Alex just continued scanning Mumkhar, hoping that however the scanner worked it would reveal new information. Something suddenly popped up, and Alex began to read it. "Oh, I think I found something."

"What?" Ness asked.

"It's sort of helpful... I think." Alex sighed.

"Well, sort of helpful is better than our current situation don't you think?" Samus asked.

"It says that the Ing can be excised and hurt from what it's possessing if it's attacked with something that's pure." Alex replied.

"Something that's pure?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah. Unfortunately, I don't exactly think any of us are just carrying around some pure alcohol or something like that..." Alex joked. "Although I doubt it's talking like that."

Lucas however began to dash towards Mumkhar and Shulk. "Oi, what's he doing?!" Reyn suddenly shouted out.

Alex just looked rather confused, unsure what was actually happening.

"Lucas has figured something out!" Noah shouted. "Defend him!" He began to fire from his gun towards the Ing.

Sharla began to fire at the Ing with her rifle. Reyn just ran towards Lucas, defending him from any Ing that were getting to close. Dunban quickly followed up slashing through them. Riki attacked with his biter. Melia was firing blasts of ether. Zoroark just quickly rushed forwards and slashed through the oncoming Ing. Ness just released a few blasts of PK Rockin knocking away the Ing.

Lucas had finally reached Mumkhar and Shulk, he just jumped right into the air and delivered a roundhouse kick right to Mumkhar's side, with enough force to send him flying away. Everyone just looked shocked at Lucas.

"What did you just do?!" Shulk asked confused.

Lucas just smiled.

"What the hell was that, brat?!" Mumkhar shouted getting back up, actually staggering. His hand reached for his robotic side. Somehow he had felt pain.

Lucas ran towards Mumkhar. This time Mumkhar tried to stop Lucas from attacking his right side, however, Lucas just feinted and attacked his left, sending him flying all the way back towards Shulk.

"What?!" Mumkhar shouted out rather frustrated. "You're making a fool out of me."

Lucas had rushed back towards Mumkhar who just slashed his claws in order to attack. Lucas however just jumped into the air and kicked him in the back sending him straight down into the ground. Mumkhar just got up and looked rather frustrated. "You... How can you hurt me?!"

Lucas just faced Mumkhar. "I ran away from the Smashers once, afraid of the oncoming trials, afraid of what was going to happen. Unsure if I even belonged. But I'm glad. There is something that even I can do."

"That doesn't answer my question!" Mumkhar lunged forwards, trying to impale his claws into Lucas. Lucas however just rushed forwards and delivered a punch that sent Mumkhar flying back. Mumkhar immediately recovered, and rushed forwards. His frustration had blinded him. Lucas just waved his hand and Mumkhar was blasted away by an invisible force.

Shulk just walked up to Lucas' side. "Have you recovered?" Lucas asked.

"A bit." Shulk replied.

Lucas just nodded. "Your chance to use Monado Purge will come. As he gets more and more frustrated, he's only going to focus on me."

"But how are you hurting him?" Shulk asked.

Mumkhar rushed towards Lucas and Shulk, thinking that Lucas was distracted. Lucas however just raised his hand. "PK Love Alpha!" He said. Mumkhar was blasted away once again.

"To be honest, I'm glad that it's working as well as it is." Lucas nervously laughed, raising his hand up to the back of his head and scratching it. "Alex just said that the Ing could be purged and hurt by attacks that were pure."

"Attacks that are pure?" Shulk said confused.

Mumkhar rushed for them once again. Lucas just waved his hand sending him flying back even further, not even actually bothering to look at the angry man.

"I guess that's my power though." Lucas replied. "Master Hand had explained to me that PK Love is so strong because of it's purity. He explained that it was the purest of psychokinetic abilities, and came from one's actual love."

"The power of love, what a crock of shit!" Mumkhar shouted walking towards them.

Lucas just glared at Mumkhar. "I don't know if I understand love. I don't know how my power is derived from that, all I know is that I don't want anyone to hurt my friends! And I will do whatever I can to stop them!"

Mumkhar just rushed for Lucas and Shulk. Lucas this time stunned Mumkhar with some PK Love, and followed up with PK Ground, opening up a small bit of the Bionis and closing it, trapping Mumkhar's feet underneath the ground.

He tried to move and struggle out of it however it was no use. Lucas just turned to Shulk. "It's your turn."

"Right. Monado Purge!" Shulk shouted once again. He sent another wave of energy from the Monado towards Mumkhar. It hit him and forced the Ing out of his body, where they were swiftly killed. "It actually worked!"

Mumkhar just glared at them. He finally manged to get his feet out of the ground and just ran towards them. "Get back here and die!" He shouted out.

Shulk however blocked the attack with the Monado and pushed him back. "It's over, Mumkhar. You lost." Shulk said. "The Ing are no more. Your Mechon is now a piece of scrap metal. And your Mechon body will be next if you continue this."

Mumkhar just scoffed. "So, you're showing me mercy? No, that's not it. You can't kill me, can you? After all, I'm still a Homs, not some mindless machine like the countless Mechon you've destroyed. You're too soft!"

He forced Shulk back, and attacked Lucas, however Dunban blocked the attack. Lucas quickly sent a blast of PK Love sending Mumkhar sliding back across the snowy field. Mumkhar quickly recovered and ran towards them. Dunban ran towards him to intercept and the two of them clashed.

"Everyone, don't interrupt." Dunban shouted. "This is now between Mumkhar and me!"

"Dunban?!" Shulk shouted out surprised.

"Oh?!" Mumkhar sneered.

"I think at the very least, I deserve some answers." Dunban said.

Mumkhar just laughed. "Answers to what?!"

Dunban swung his sword, while Mumkhar could only block each attack with his claws. "You fought beside me at Sword Valley! Why did you change sides! Why the Mechon?" He shouted out frustrated as he continued his assault.

"You're as blind as you were then!" Mumkhar replied, finally pushing Dunban back a bit. "I've wanted you dead for years!" he began to slash at Dunban who blocked each of the attacks.

There was suddenly some shaking. "What's happening?" Shulk asked.

"Is the Bionis moving?" Reyn wondered.

"Worse..." Alex said. "They're here..."

Dunban and Mumkhar were still fighting. "I wanted the Monado so I could be the new hero!" Mumkhar shouted.

"That's it?!" Dunban said surprised. "That's the puerile reason you've killed all those innocent people?" He brought up his sword and hit Mumkhar in the face with the pommel. "Ravaged our home!"

Mumkhar however wasn't affected. "I love this body." He laughed. "The power!"

The two rushed for each other and their blades clashed as they passed each other, and slid to three meters apart from each other. Suddenly Mumkhar's robotic right arm began to spark, and it fell down uselessly to his side. "Dunban, you'll never win! Get on your knees and worship me!"

"Never!" Dunban replied. He turned to face Mumkhar. "I will strike you down and all that you have become, you wretched fool! The Monado will stop you. And then you will know the shame of all that you have done, traitor!"

"Shut your mouth and come on!" Mumkhar said. The two rushed towards each other, however this time a wave of snow hit them both, sending Dunban flying back. Suddenly a bunch of Mechon appeared and surrounded everyone. These ones were bronze, a mass produced type of face Mechon.

A light appeared in the sky and from it appeared a large golden faced Mechon.

"What the?" Dunban said getting back to his feet.

"It's not like the other Mechon." Shulk said.

"It's name is Yaldabaoth." Alex said.

However, another Mechon appeared right beside it. It was smaller than Yaldabaoth, only standing up to it's knees, like the other Mechon. This Mechon had a sword fastened to it's side, and had a cape across his back. Where the face on this one was what appeared to be a helmet.

"That one though... I've never seen it before. It's not in the game." Alex said.

"What?!" Hayden said surprised.

"That's bad right?" Noah said.

"Most likely..." Alex muttered. He quickly began to scan it with the Samus card.

"You are right. Heir to the Monado." Yaldabaoth said. "And you too, visitors from another world. This is the strongest Mechon ever built. Yaldabaoth, controlled by me, Egil. Leader of Mechonis and agent of Meyneth."

"Leader of Mechonis." Shulk said. "So you're the one who controls the Mechon!"

"I kind of think that's what leader means." Hayden muttered underneath his breath.

"I am he." Egil replied. "We fight to free the world from the tyranny of the Bionis."

"Why? Why do you trap homs in machines? What do you want from us? Why make us fight for you?!" Shulk shouted.

"Your questions do not concern me." Egil replied. "I must return with this one." his hand began to glow and Nemesis began to float up, and Yaldabaoth began to fly off.

"Fiora!" Shulk shouted. "Get your hands off of her! Fiora!"

"If you want her, come and get her." Egil said. "You are more than welcome on Mechonis." He then flew away.

"Come and visit any time, Dunban!" Mumkhar laughed, as Metal Face was being carried away by a few bronze Mechon.

All of the face Mechon began to fly away.

"We're coming! And we won't give up!" Shulk shouted. He began to chase after them, however a Mechon was left behind, the new model that no one had recognized. He just ran right in front of Shulk and drew what appeared to be a giant sword.

Egil just looked back. "See how you fare against that one. Then if you survive, find us, Monado. Sword of the Bionis. We will meet you on the battlefield."

The Mechon swung its sword. Shulk just jumped back to avoid the attack. It then switched to an arm cannon and fired a powerful fire blast. It hit and created an explosion.

"That was just like a psychic attack." Ness said in shock.

The Masked Mechon rushed towards Shulk, it fired more shots from it's arm cannon, none of them actually hit, but they were creating loud explosions. However, it was clear that everyone was exhausted from the previous battle with Mumkhar, Metal Face, and the Ing. If this went on, it would most likely be disastrous.

Alex didn't know if what he was doing would actually work, but he just began to run forwards.

"Stop!" Alex shouted stepping in between the Masked Mechon, and Shulk. He quickly fired two aura spheres at the masked Mechon. It just dodged the attacks and froze. It held it's sword in front of itself rather defensively. "I don't know if the Homs in there can hear me, but we can't fight you right now. If we continue to fight out here, an avalanche could occur, killing all of us. We're all exhausted. It would be in all of our best interests to fight each other when we get to sword Valley, when we've recovered and are not in danger of being killed by the environment."

"Oi!" Reyn shouted. "What do you think you're doing, do you think you can just convince them to let us go?"

"No." Alex said. "You could stay with us to, to make sure we don't run away. I just believe that this isn't the optimal place for us to fight. It wouldn't be satisfying for you if we were killed off by an avalanche, would it?"

"I don't think this one is like Mumkhar, this one doesn't have his consciousness." Dunban said.

The Masked Mechon just turned away. "Very well then." It said. "I will be waiting at sword valley." The voice however shocked everyone. It was that of a child. "I will be watching, if you try and run away, I will just cause an avalanche to kill all of you."

With that the Mechon began to walk away.

"Was that a kid?!" Reyn said shocked. "What on Bionis is going on?"

"It was probably to be expected..." Shulk said. "They were using Homs. They probably didn't care... It was probably just another soldier to them."

"Damn, that's dirty... Will we have to kill him?" Dunban wondered.

Ness just looked at Lucas and then at Alex and then at Shulk's crew. "Um, how about we get out of the wind and start a fire and warm up a bit." He suggested. They all looked at him and just nodded in agreement.

There was a nearby cave so they just walked over to it and got in so they were out of the winds. Ness created the fire, and they all just tended to whatever wounds they had received in the battle. It had become clear that the adrenaline received from battle had worn off and the true realization of what had just happened hit some of them.

"Fiora..." Shulk said.

Melia just looked over at Shulk. "Shulk..."

"She's..."

Reyn just shook his head, and proceeded to slap Shulk across the back. "Get it together Shulk." Shulk just turned around and gasped. "We ain't got time to be hanging around here! I dunno what's happened to her, but that was Fiora. No doubt about it! You know what that means?! She ain't dead! We've gotta get her back!"

Shulk just paused for several moments, letting Reyn's words sink in. "Get her back..." He repeated. "Right! We've come too far to give up now!"

"Then we'll go to Mechonis! And find Fiora!" Reyn said.

They all turned to face Alvis, who had ventured deeper into the cave. "At the end of this cave lies Sword Valley. The Mechon flew in the direction of Galahad Fortress. Fiora may be there. Will you pursue, Shulk?"

"Yes." Shulk replied. "We will get Fiora back."

With a new determination they all began to make their way through the cave that lead to the Bionis' thumb. Saki was perhaps the happiest with the change in temperature when they exited out of the caves. "Holy crap!" He shouted. "I never thought I'd feel warmth again!"

They made their way to a cliff and just looked out, it was overlooking sword valley, and where the sword of the Mechonis was impaling the Bionis. "Whoa! What the?!" Reyn said.

"Is all that big sword? If is then ouchy ouch!" Riki chimed in.

"The sword of the Mechonis." Dunban said.

"The entire valley below... the whole thing is its sword." Sharla said.

"Something seems unnatural." Shulk added on.

"What do you mean?" Melia asked.

"Look. That flowing light." Shulk said, pointing at some pipes that were glowing green. "From the way it glows, it has to be ether. But it looks like it's being drawn in by something."

"By the fortress!" Dunban said. "It should just be up ahead."

"Father once told me that the Mechonis absorbs the ether of the Bionis and uses it for sustenance." Melia said.

"So the Mechonis feeds off ether." Dunban said. "Then undoubtedly the ether serves as the Mechon's energy source as well."

They continued down the Bionis' thumb. Having to pass through another cave. But when they got out, the could see a dome off in the distance. Their destination, Galahad Fortress. However before that was a structure, they could only see the top of it but it looked like the top of a bottle. Alex just cringed. "It's going to start soon..." He muttered.

"What is?" Noah asked.

"Pain, lots and lots of pain." Alex replied.

"There it is, that far one off in the distance." Alvis said. "That is your destination, Galahad Fortress."

"It looks so big, even from this distance. The fortress must be enormous." Melia said.

"Galahad Fortress - the front line base of the Mechon. The Mechon that attack Bionis must all come from here." Dunban said.

"Then there's a high probability that he's there." Shulk said. "The golden Mechon that took Fiora." Shulk just began to walk forwards. "We're about to enter the Mechon stronghold. If there's anyone who wants to turn back now..."

"Shulk. Friend should no split up!" Riki quickly chimed in, jumping into the air and flapping his ears. "No leave friend behind. Riki scared but Riki want go too."

"Riki."

"He's right. Okay, let's go." Dunban said.

"Yes!" Shulk replied. They walked down further until they soon saw a ship. "What's that?" Reyn asked.

"A supply convoy." Alvis replied. "it would be most unwise to proceed without restocking our supplies."

Shulk just turned to Alvis in shock. "You arranged this for us?" He asked.

Alvis just nodded, and was about to answer however he was cut off by Reyn suddenly shouting.

"Hey, it's Dickson!" Reyn said.

Shulk turned to face the ship, and standing outside of it was an older looking man, he had a red bandanna wrapped around his had rather long blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail. A purple denim shirt.

"Dickson?!" Shulk said. They began to walk towards him.

He just threw off a cigar and turned around to face the rather large group. "Looks like you lot have been having fun without me. Heard you took care of that faced Mechon." He looked over the group and actually seemed shocked at all of the newcomers but quickly hid it.

"What are you doing here?" Dunban asked.

"I got wind of some allied force coming together a few days back." Dickson replied. "I stepped up as the representative of the Homs. Then a little birdie told me you lot were heading for Galahad Fortress. So I thought I'd drop by and say hello. I've got a whole stack of new equipment. Want some?"

"Yeah! I was hoping for some new stuff!" Reyn said.

"Hold it. Reyn. You know it's gonna cost you?" Dickson said.

"You cheap old man!" Dunban said.

Dickson just waved it off. "This stuff is good. You'll be able to harm the Mechon without relying on the Monado to enchant your weapons."

"That's great!" Reyn shouted. "But seriously, you can't give us a discount? The Bionis is at stake here!"

"If I give all my weapons away for free, what's going to happen when you save the Bionis?" Dickson replied. "If there's no war with the Mechonis anymore there will be no need for the defense force, no need for the weapons I make. I need to make a living before I close up shop! Now, who are your new friends here Shulk? This isn't exactly the place for kids."

The Smashers just glared at Dickson. "Hey, I'm not a kid!" Ness shouted.

"Yes you are." Roy replied, just putting his hand on Ness's head.

Shulk just laughed. "I can explain everything as everyone else is buying and equipping the new weapons and gems." Shulk said.

They just disbanded, the majority of the group from Bionis walked over to the arms dealer and began to get new weapons. Removing gems from the old ones, placing them in the new ones, and swinging them around. Shulk and Dickson just walked over to the side and sat down on some rocks. Shulk just began to explain the current situation and how the situation had changed. How the Ing had appeared, and how the Smashers were here to get rid of them.

"Ah, good. And once those stupid bugs are gone they'll go too."

"That's the current plan." Alex replied. "We need to make sure everything is back on the right track and that there is no further damage."

"Good." Dickson said. "Those bugs are getting quite annoying."

The others had come over after finishing buying their new weapons. "Well, now here is what's been happening since you had left us back at the Satorl Marsh." Shulk said. He went over how they found Melia, and both she and Riki joined them, and then the events at Prison Island, and how they saw Fiora alive.

"Fiora? You mean Dunban's sister?" Dickson said shocked. He glanced over at Dunban.

"Yes." Dunban said.

"So that's why you're all looking so down." Dickson said. "I can't believe they're sticking Homs into those faced Mechon. Looks like they weren't just eating us."

"They made Mumkhar into one." Dunban said. "He was the one who attacked Colony 9."

"Oh, and there was me thinking he snuffed it in that battle." Dickson said rather dryly.

"Aren't you surprised?" Dunban asked.

"That he attacked Colony 9?" Dickson said. "I dunno what drives those Mechon. I've given up trying to figure them out. It don't surprise me one bit. Still, Mumkhar as well eh? Things are getting interesting."

"Sorry?" Shulk said a bit confused.

"Oh, nothing." Dickson replied.

"It really wasn't." Alex muttered underneath his breath so that no one else could hear him.

Alvis just walked over to them. "It is time for us to return." He said. "I would like to continue providing assistance, but my help is required in assembling Homs for the allied force. There are also my duties as seer to consider."

"Then I'll be off too." Dickson said. "You lot should be all right getting Fiora back. In the meantime, we'll be getting ready for battle."

"Thanks for coming this far. We'll be fine. We can handle ourselves." Shulk said.

Alvis just nodded.

"Galahad Fortress is a key position for the Mechon. You can't just rush in, all guns blazing." Dickson said.

"Agreed." Dunban said. "We will infiltrate via the ether inlets. If I'm right, and the Mechon do feed off of ether then we're sure to find some form of influx channel. Our objective is to reach one of those channels."

"Don't go dying on me, Shulk!" Dickson said.

"I won't! You take care as well." Shulk replied.

"Cheers." Dickson said walking away. Alvis followed. Both of them getting into the ship. The group just watched as the ship flew away.

"Looks like it's just us." Melia said.

"Right! We head for the hilt of the sword - Galahad Fortress." Dunban said. "At least that's what I would be saying if we didn't have that other thing that appeared in Sword Valley that we now have to go to."

"Yeah." Alex said. "We'll deal with the Bottle Ship, then get out of your hair. Hopefully if, or when that disappears everything will go back to normal."

"'Hopefully'? So, you don't even know?" Shulk asked.

"Well, to be honest." Alex sighed. "It's the first time anything like this has happened. Before this it's just been monsters appearing in our world, we defeat them, and they're sent back. So now, it's something else, and frankly much bigger than anything we've dealt with before."

"Well then, I hope we can figure out how to make this place disappear."

They began to walk forwards, however Dunban stopped and looked up at the sky. "_One year on. Now, at last, we will seize our destiny._" He thought. "_Isn't that right, Shulk?_"

* * *

Elsewhere Egil was in his golden Mechon, reminiscing. "Arglas... So another has appeared with the ability to wield the Monado. But why would Zanza release the Monado? He surely knows it would become a double-edged sword. Yet he relinquishes it to that mere child." He paused for several moments thinking about Nemesis, how it had met up with the wielder of the Monado. "And a Face escaped my control and acted alone. Now that the Monado has been freed, it appears the usefulness of the Faces has come to an end. Although... Perhaps there are still things to be learned from having them challenge the boy."

"Indeed." A voice said, walking towards the golden Mechon, Yaldabaoth, was Hades.

"Why are you still here?" Egil asked.

"Am I not allowed to watch what transpires here with my servant?" Hades wondered. "If everything goes well, maybe they will all die in there. It would be the best for both of us, wouldn't it?"

"Just what are you after?" Egil asked.

"A soul." Hades replied.

"Just a single soul?" Egil asked.

"Yes, indeed. If I get it, you will never have to worry about anything again. Mechonis will be safe. Bionis will die." Hades said. "I may also now want Mumkhar when he kicks the bucket. But that can wait a while. Now why don't you tell me about this Zanza?"

"I'm sure someone such as yourself all ready knows." Egil said. He just did his best to ignore Hades' presence.

"Indeed I do." Hades sighed. He looked at a monitor, the Smashers and the group from Bionis had made it to in front of the Bottle Ship. "And now, let's see what's going to happen."

* * *

Progression through Sword Valley was quick and easy. Much to their shock the large gates that had been closed opened up for them. They continued walking. Scattered across the sides of sword valley were the scraps of Mechon and Mobile Artillery. The place had clearly been a war zone. Only the most damaged scraps of metal were left. There were several Mechon that were acting as scavengers, paying no heed to the group. But soon they reached the Bottle Ship, and the new Mechon that was in front. They just hid behind some cover and took a few seconds to just survey the area.

"So, there's the Bottle Ship." Alex said.

"Is it really called that?" Reyn wondered.

"Unfortunately." Alex replied. "Just be glad it's not in all caps..."

"What are you talking about?" Reyn asked.

"You see that sign?" Alex said, pointing to a sign. It was in clear English. "Well it says BOTTLE SHIP, where all the letters are in capitals."

"Is that a language that is from your world?" Reyn asked. "Because I can't read it."

Alex paused for a second. He just reached up to his ear. "Can I get a confirmation that there is magic or something involved so that we can all understand each other? And even if it sounds like we're all speaking English, it's just that the magic is automatically translating everything we say so everyone understands."

"Correct." A voice said through the earpiece.

"Alex is talking to himself again." Riki said.

"Well, regardless, to get into the Bottle Ship, and get it out of here, we have to fight this thing." Hayden said.

"Somehow, I don't exactly see this as fair, 16 of us against one of him." Lucas said.

"I think you should save your chivalry for someone else." Roy said. "I say we take advantage of this and beat him down!"

"We should be careful though, we haven't seen this Mechon before." Shulk said.

However Alex was all ready walking towards it.

"What are you doing?" Shulk asked.

"It was pointless at trying to hide." Alex replied. "He knew we were there. He's been looking at us for the past little while."

Indeed, the Mechon had been staring at their hiding place. Although it hadn't drawn it's sword or readied it's arm cannon, it just stood there patiently. Realizing that there was no reason to hide, they just walked towards the new Mechon, and the Bottle Ship.

"Smashers, I've been waiting for you." It said, all of them finding the child's voice rather unsettling. "I'm glad that you kept your word, so now we can fight."

"But before we do, I have some questions." Alex said.

"Then I will answer them to the best of my ability." Masked Face replied.

"Why did you trust us?" Alex asked.

It felt like the Mechon was looking down at them. "It wasn't so much trust as I knew you would inevitably have to come here." Masked Face replied. "You're here to stop the anomaly. To stop the anomaly you have to go into the Bottle Ship and find it. You couldn't run to begin with. I could have simply fought you back there. But, I'm not bound by Egil's orders."

"So, you're not from the Bionis like the other Face Mechon?" Shulk asked.

"No. I was brought here by Lord Hades to fight you." Masked Face replied.

"And why didn't you fight us back then?" Alex asked. "Is it just because of an unsatisfying end to the battle? You didn't want us dying from an avalanche, or because we were weak from the previous battle and that would be taking away a satisfying victory? Was it Hades' orders?"

The Mechon appeared to shrug. "Nonsense. A victory is victory, and I don't think Lord Hades would care how I did it. Besides isn't the greatest victory winning without having to waste any resources?"

"But you're not just a soulless husk, are you?" Alex asked. "Part of you is still alive and was craving for battle and victory."

"I am just a soldier. Besides, you are not all of the Smashers, even if I took you out that way there would just be another battle with the other Smashers. A chance for another victory would just be another day away." Masked Face replied. "I chose to let you live because you couldn't run, us fighting was inevitable. That is all."

"Is that so?" Alex said. "Very well then, I guess you will continue to say that no mater what. But despite that, I'm going to call you a coward!"

Masked Face drew his sword and pointed it right at Alex. Alex grabbed his sword and a beam of energy appeared, he used it to push away the sword that he thought was dangerously too close for comfort. "A coward? Me? Selfish, I might be able to understand, but a coward?" He asked. "Why do you say that?"

"Because, you're hiding behind that Mechon! You're not out here facing us as yourself!" Alex shouted.

"Is that all?" Masked Face replied. "This is just simply a tool, much like your swords. Can I call you cowards if you don't fight with your fists? Besides, I'm different when compared to other Face Mechon."

"How so?" Shulk asked.

"I'm controlling all of this manually." Masked Face replied. "You saw the one you all called Mumkhar, how his body had been replaced with machine. Where he was one with the Mechon, and was an extension of his body."

"So it's like a Mecha." Hayden said.

"Although, I can activate an AI and have it join the battle." Masked Face said. "Well, regardless, I'm getting bored of all this talking, lets fight!"

Masked Face just raised his hand, suddenly a bunch of Mechon appeared. "Well, I guess that evens the odds." Saki sighed.

The Monado just began to glow and Shulk swung it, enchanting all of their weapons. "All right, take care of the normal Mechons, and then we can focus on Masked Face!"

Alex just glared forwards at Masked Face. He began to run towards the faced Mechon. Several other Mechon rushed in front of him to try and stop him. However Alex just cut through them. "Sorry, but I don't have time for you. Something has been bothering me about you, Masked Face! Specifically just who the hell are you?!"

Alex swung his sword, but Masked Face swatted him away with his sword. He skidded across the ground until he managed to stop himself with his own sword. "You are going to have to figure that out yourself." Masked Face replied. "Perhaps if you can get me out of this cockpit, then you will see who I really am."

Masked Face aimed his arm cannon towards Alex and fired, a giant blast of energy came out, however Reyn jumped in front of it to block the attack. The attack however was still strong enough to send Reyn back into Alex. The two got up. "Are you okay?" Reyn asked.

"Yeah, mostly..." Alex said. He just glared towards the Mechon. "But this guy... I really want to beat him."

"Don't lose your head." Reyn said.

Alex just continued to look forwards. "Don't worry about me." He said. "I won't lose to him."

He began to rush forwards and dodged several shots from the Mechon's cannon. In the process the shots were destroying several other Mechon. "He's not used to the new body." Alex laughed. "His aim is terrible. Then... what he was saying about controlling it manually was probably the truth... maybe I have a chance."

Alex continued running towards the giant Mechon, avoiding it's various shots by hiding behind other Mechon, and then when he got into closer range Masked Face began to swing it's sword. Alex blocked the attack with his sword, but almost immediately his whole body began to scream out in pain. He just silently began to berate himself for that stupid idea. Almost immediately after he was hit by something in the back. He turned his head to see Sharla pointing her rifle at him. He realized that she must have shot a ether bullet to heal him and just turned his attention back to Masked Face.

"Okay, of course giant robot is incredibly strong." Alex muttered. "Can probably hit like a truck..."

Masked Face fired several more shots at Alex who just tried to dodge them to the best of his ability.

"Tell me, you're from a different world, just like I am, you know what's going to happen." The Masked Mechon said. "Why are you defending them?"

"It's because I do know what's going to happen." Alex replied. "And I know everything will work out."

"But with your knowledge, can't you change it? Change what will happen?"

Alex just froze. "It's a possibility, but I don't think I can. At least not with this game. Everything is too far gone. There is nothing I can really interject and change the major plot here. But how do you know about what's going to happen?"

"How little do you know?" Masked Face asked. "But, fine I'll answer your question. Because everything runs in cycles. Everything repeats itself endlessly! There is no end in sight!"

"Yeah right." Alex said. "I've seen the ending, and I'll say right now it's a pretty happy one."

Masked Face suddenly seemed enraged, lightning seemed to come from nowhere, hit the Mechon and discharged all over the place, at least frying several Mechon.

Alex just looked around a bit annoyed. "If you ask me it seems like this Mechon body is a hindrance to you."

"Yes. Slightly, I'm still not fully adjusted to it. But, if you can't beat me in this body, what chance do you have for the battles ahead?"

Alex just nodded. The Masked Mechon did have a point.

"At the very least, Lord Hades does wish that if you oppose him, you are at least a challenge..." Masked Face said.

Masked Face swung his sword, however Saki blocked it with his cannon sword. He aimed it at the Mechon and began to fire.

"He want's us to be a challenge?" Saki said, with venom dripping in his voice. "Well that just pisses me off! Didn't Pit kick his ass alone, and he want's us to be a challenge?"

"Pit had outside assistance from other Gods." The Masked Mechon replied. "It still took the combined efforts of 4 other Gods to beat Hades, and only then just barely."

Saki froze for a few seconds and thought it over. "I guess Pit was embellishing the truth again, that makes a whole lot of sense."

"Even so, Hades had learned from his mistakes, and won't repeat them." The Masked Mechon said.

"Just out of curiosity, did any of those mistakes involve him being distracted?" Alex wondered.

"I don't believe so, why?" The Masked Mechon asked.

Shulk had been running through the Mechon. He jumped into the air and slashed open the chest compartment of the distracted Masked Face, when he landed on the ground he looked up to see the pilot.

"That's why." Alex said. He took a deep breath and looked up at the now revealed pilot.

"So, it really was a kid?!" Shulk said. He backed away from the giant Mechon. Now, everyone else could clearly see the young boy. He had a helmet on. He wore a black suit and orange pants.

He just jumped out of the Mechon and drew his own energy sword.

Alex just glanced over at Lucas. "Oh shit." Alex muttered.

Lucas just froze in terror, and then began to back away afraid, not even noticing an approaching Mechon. Thankfully Ness quickly jumped in and kicked the Mechon away.

"How much tougher can this brat be?" Reyn asked. "He doesn't have that Mechon anymore."

He answered that question by rushing to Reyn and kicking him away.

"Don't let your guard down." Alex said.

He raised up his sword, and suddenly a bolt of lightning hit it. He brought it to the ground and a giant ball of electricity rushed towards all of the Smashers.

"PK Thunder!" Ness shouted blocking the attack with his own bolts of lightning. "That attack! It was just like our PK... Wait, mask, black and orange... Psychic attacks..." He glanced at Lucas and his current condition and everything just clicked. "Oh no..." He knew this was the person that tormented him in his nightmares.

Lucas just grabbed his head. His eyes were wide open in shock. "No, no!" He repeated. "This didn't happen, these aren't my memories."

Memories, or something was flooding into his mind. _He could see his father badly hurt, his one hand holding his most likely broken arm. Cuts and bruises were all over him. "That boy wearing the mask. He's Claus! Lucas, it's your brother Claus! We found him!"_

_He could see everything so clearly: them fighting, or rather the Masked Man relentlessly attacking and Lucas defending. He could see the Masked Man removing his helmet, and having the messy orange helmet hair revealed._

_And then there was the final intense bolt of lightning that rushed for Lucas, and was reflected off of his badge, back to his brother. When the attack was done, Claus just staggered towards Lucas and the two embraced. "I'm going to where Mom is now."_

More and more memories just flowed into Lucas' head. They were just shattered pieces from different times.

_"His is a cursed existence. It always ends in tragedy." Master Hand said. "Every cycle he's involved in, he has died. You've brought him back just so he can get killed again."_

_"Get the hell away from my brother!"_

_"It was a figure of speech sorry. Geeze, if looks could kill."_

Lucas just collapsed onto his knees. His hands still grabbing his head. The Mechon noticed his new defenseless state and just approached him. However the Smashers quickly surrounded him to protect him. "Ness, get Lucas out of here!" Saki shouted.

Ness just nodded and reached down for his friend. The moment there was contact, Lucas seemed to snap to reality and just knocked Ness' hand away. "Don't touch me!" Lucas shouted, outright terrified.

Ness just used some of his PSI Hypnosis Alpha to knock Lucas unconscious. He grabbed Lucas and carried him away.

However the Masked Man seemed to just run to intercept the two. He just quickly kicked Ness away and caught the sleeping Lucas, and slung him over his shoulder. "It seems this boy has just awakened to the truth of our worlds."

Shulk was the one to run forwards. He swung the Monado towards Lucas and the Masked Man, however the Masked Man blocked the attack with his energy sword. "You could hurt your own ally." The Masked Man said.

"I have control over the Monado, it will only cut what I desire it to!" Shulk replied.

"Is that what you think?" The Masked Man asked. "Then try!"

A blast of ether however knocked The Masked Man away, and he dropped Lucas who just rolled across the ground. Reyn just quickly picked Lucas up and slung him over his shoulder. "I'll get him away from here!" Reyn shouted.

"Thanks Reyn!" Shulk replied, just facing the Masked Man.

All of the Mechon had been taken care of, so they just all focused their attention on the Masked Man. He wasn't too pleased. He just raised up his sword and electricity suddenly surged and stunned nearly everyone. Ness was able to absorb the electricity that was sent at him. For Alex, Hayden, and Noah their suits were insulated to protect them from electricity. Shulk was also able to quickly put the Monado into the ground, so that it acted like a lightning rod and kept the electricity away from him. But everyone else had been stunned.

Reyn had at least managed to get Lucas over to the wall of Sword Valley before they were shocked and stunned, causing them both to fall onto the ground.

Shulk just rushed towards the Masked Man and swung the Monado. The Masked Man quickly blocked with his own sword, and the two were in the middle of a power struggle. Just trying to force the other back.

Noah quickly shot at the Masked Man, causing him to jump away from Shulk and shoot back at him. Ness rushed towards the Masked Man, and swung his baseball bat, knocking the Masked Man's sword away. Ness just quickly threw a plume of PK Fire, however the Masked Man countered with his own PK Fire.

"Who are you?!" Ness asked. "Why can you use psychic attacks?!"

"Why do you ask that? I've always been able to use psychic attacks." The Masked Man said. "Like this!"

Ness was suddenly hit by a psychic attack. He just looked up at the Masked Man in shock, who was now running to recover his sword. The brief flashes of hexagons were identical to Lucas' PK Love. But when hit with Lucas' there was always a warm feeling that resided afterwards. But here, it was cold. Empty. Ness just felt his body heat leave him, and he just shivered.

"That was PK Love, I'm sure of it. But then that would mean that this guy?! It can't be..." Ness muttered.

Hayden rushed towards the Masked Man, who had recovered his sword. When Hayden got close, he could only dodge the sword attacks. It quickly became clear that the Masked Man was at the advantage with close range combat with his sword, and Hayden wouldn't be able to attack with his fists. Hayden just jumped back and switched to the gunner, to begin to fire at the Masked Man. But even with Noah constantly shooting as well, the Masked Man was able to effortlessly block each attack.

Alex had managed to sneak behind The Masked Man and brought his sword down, however, the Masked Man had quickly turned around to block the attack.

Shulk just quickly rushed for The Masked Man. He jumped into the air to avoid the constant assaults from Alex, Shulk, Noah, and Hayden.

"PK Rockin!" Ness shouted, sending a blast of psychokinetic energy right at the Masked Man, he was sent flying back. When he recovered he just looked at all of them. "There's too many of you to handle by myself." He said. He hit something on his wrist and Masked Face reactivated.

The Masked Mechon began to fire the attacks, quickly everyone jumped away to avoid it. "It's just like with Mumkhar." Shulk said. "He's able to control it remotely."

"It must just be that AI he was talking about." Alex said.

"I'll get rid of it." Shulk said. "I can actually see visions with this Mechon. It seems that despite the pilot, it was still made here."

"All right." Alex said.

Shulk just rushed towards Masked Face. He quickly activated Monado Speed and was able to get behind the Mechon. He jumped up and quickly cut off the cannon arm. Masked Face just swung it's other arm, the one with the sword, and it clashed with the Monado. Shulk just jumped back and approached from the now defenseless side, cutting through the Mechon's legs, and putting it off balance. Masked Face quickly stabbed his sword into the ground to act as a way to stabilize itself, however Shulk jumped into the air and cut off it's remaining arm. He followed it up with cutting Masked Face right down the center. He just jumped back and a few seconds later Masked Face exploded.

The Masked Man had released a giant blast of PK Love Omega, knocking out Alex, Hayden, and Noah. Only leaving Ness as the only conscious Smasher. He just looked over at Ness and held out his sword.

The two rushed for each other. Ness swung his baseball bat, and it collided with The Masked Man's sword. The two tried to force each other back. Both of them were just glaring into the others eyes, ready to tear each other apart. The Masked Man unleashed another blast of PK Love, however Ness countered with PK Rockin. The two attacks collided, exploded, and forced them both back.

During the Masked Man and Ness' previous exchange, Shulk had gone to Shalra and helped her get up. "Are you okay Sharla?" Shulk asked.

"Sort of."

"Can you help everyone else get up, and heal them?" Shulk asked.

"Yes of course." Sharla replied. "Should I send them right back to battle?"

"No, I don't think so. Not until there's a signal." Shulk replied.

"Okay understood." Sharla said.

Shulk just began rushing back towards the Masked Man. Ness just laughed. "Looks like it's just about over."

"Or that's what you'd like to think." The Masked Man replied. "Sorry, but I'm not done yet. I'm nowhere near done!"

The Masked Man was still quite skilled with the sword and was able to fend off both Ness and Shulk's combined attacks, along with being able to force them both back. He began to fire at them with his arm cannon, and the two just dodged the constant attacks. However he suddenly stopped firing. The two took this opportunity to charge towards him, they both swung their weapons, and he blocked and sent the two back sliding a good 20 feet across the ground.

They were about to rush forwards once again to attack him however they both froze as Lucas staggered past the two of them. He just made his way up to the Masked Man and held out his stick in front of him, ready to strike. "Why do you raise your weapon at me?" The Masked Man asked. "You've awakened haven't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lucas replied. "I don't know what these memories are, if they're true or not."

"So you have awakened, you're just confused." The Masked Man said, disabling his beam sword. He just stretched out his hand for Lucas to take it. "You haven't been able to piece together everything that happened because of the chaos of battle. Let me help. What you have seen has occurred countless times in the past, and will continue to occur countless more times unless someone stops it. You know what has happened, you can help me stop it. We can change our fates. I can help you."

Lucas just looked at the person in shock. "No. Even if they're true... I have to stop you."

"How sad. So, you are my enemy." The Masked Man replied. "I'm sorry then." He reactivated the beam sword and tried to stab Lucas, however Ness jumped and swung his baseball bat down, hitting the sword down into the ground.

"Lucas, I don't know what you saw, but I'll help you through it." Ness said. "We all will. So, please don't think this is beyond you, or anything."

"You Smashers help him?" The Masked Man scoffed. "That's not going to happen."

"And why not?!" Ness asked.

"This is all your fault to begin with!" The Masked Man replied.

Ness just was confused at the accusation. "Our fault?" He questioned.

The Masked Man however didn't answer. He quickly delivered a kick into Ness' side that sent him flying back and crashing into the wall of Sword Valley. The Masked Man sent a powerful PK Thunder Omega at Ness and he screamed out in pain before falling unconscious.

"Ness!" Lucas shouted out. He just turned and glared at the Masked Man. "I don't know who you are!" Lucas snapped. "But if you are the person in my memories, you would never hurt Ness! He was your friend!"

"Friend?" The Masked Man scoffed. "I have no need for such useless things. Nor any among the Smashers!"

"That's a lie!" Lucas shouted. "I saw you, you were with Ness! You were laughing and joking and stuff!"

"Perhaps you haven't awakened to your true memories."

Lucas just clenched his fist. "Do you even know who I am?" Lucas asked.

"No." The Masked Man replied. "Beyond you being a Smasher, that is all I know about you."

There was a smile that went across Lucas' face. He was happy. What the Masked Man had just said, reassured him that he wasn't the same Masked Man in the memories. It was just a copy, probably one made to try and trigger his memories. He could now fight without any worries.

"I'm positive I have awakened, whatever that means." Lucas replied. "It's you who hasn't."

The Masked Man rushed towards Lucas, rather furious about his accusation. Shulk however jumped in between them and swung down the Monado. The Masked Man blocked the attack with his beam sword, and then just placed his cannon arm right on Shulk's abdomen, before firing off a point blank PK Love Omega. This sent Shulk flying back.

"I'm done playing around." The Masked Man said. "I'm tired of your lies. I don't care if you've awakened. Hades can just take your soul and make you a body, and make you obedient! And then I don't have to listen to your nonsense."

"Nonsense!?" Lucas shouted, swinging his stick. "You were with us in the past! Just what don't you understand?!"

"It's you who doesn't understand anything!" The Masked Man shouted. "The pain that I've endured! I was never with you! I was always alone!"

* * *

A kid with orange hair was crying in an abyss of complete and total darkness. "Why does this keep happening?" He whimpered. "WHY?!" He let out a frustrated scream, before returning back to his crying self. He just looked at his hands.

"So you've awakened." A voice said.

The boy was absolutely terrified. He looked around for the source of the voice. "Who are you? Where are you?!" He shouted.

"You're afraid," The voice said. "I understand why you would be. I don't want to hurt you."

The boy just kept on looking around for the source of the voice, he was absolutely terrified.

"How many times have you died? How many times have you witnessed it? That exact same moment?"

"I don't know!" the boy shouted, confused. He was grabbing his head and trying to curl up into a ball. "Just leave me alone!"

"Why? So everything can repeat once again?" The voice asked. "I can help you put an end to it."

The boy just looked up. "What?"

"You are trapped in an endless cycle resulting in your death." The voice replied. "Just like myself, and many others."

The boy just cried out in fear and realization. "Wait then that means, is my mother also in that cycle?"

"Yes." The voice replied. "Every time she has died, but she hasn't awakened and even if she did, she doesn't have the power to stop it. You do, and together we can help each other end these cycles. You can be free from all the pain."

"I can be free?" The boy said, a smile crossing his face.

"If you join me, I can promise you this if you help me. You won't have to worry about any further cycles. No further tragedies will befall you." He said.

For the tormented boy, it seemed like that was enough. "I can live peacefully with my family if I help you?! I won't die again?!"

"What is your name?" The voice asked.

"I'm Claus!"

"Thank you Claus, I'm Hades."

* * *

"I'm stopping this!" The Masked Man shouted. "I'm making sure no one else ever has to go through with what I went through, time and time again!"

The Masked Man swung his sword, however Lucas blocked the attack with his stick. "I don't know what pain you've endured. But you're not the only one who has suffered. Do you really think that this is the solution? How many more people will suffer if worlds fuse like this?"

The Masked Man quickly put some distance between him and Lucas. "Shut up! It's you Smashers who are causing people to suffer! You're the ones who are to blame for the worlds constantly being in cycles."

"_Cycles?_" Alex thought, as he struggled to get up. "What do you mean?"

"The worlds are doomed to repeat their tragedy every time. They are stagnate and don't change!" The Masked Man shouted. "They are static! How many times has this cycle, this war between Bionis and Mechonis repeated itself?!"

Alex just froze rethinking upon what Roy and Samus said yesterday.

* * *

_"Actually, that might be for the best." Samus said. "Master Hand always has been going on about the balance between worlds, and how we shouldn't interfere with what's supposed to happen beyond just doing our job and stuff."_

_"Is there actually something that stops us from trying to deviate from the plot of the games?" Noah wondered._

_"I don't know." Roy replied. "Just Master Hand has said not to do it, and that the results could be disastrous."_

* * *

"Wait, what?!" Alex said a bit shocked. "_Are we unknowingly perpetuating these cycles by following those rules?_"

Shulk came rushing up towards the Masked Man. He swung the Monado, and the Masked Man countered with his sword. He took a look around and noticed that they had mostly recovered, so he just quickly called some more Mechon to keep everyone occupied.

Alex however was lost in his own thoughts, trying to figure everything out, so much that he didn't notice a Mechon approaching behind him. He was suddenly pushed away by a giant glove of energy. He looked back to see what just happened, and Isaac was rushing to where he used to be standing, and a Mechon that had just swung it's arm. "Why are you spacing out now?" Isaac shouted.

Alex just looked at him. "Sorry, I need to figure something out!" He shouted.

"Well during battle isn't exactly the best time!" Isaac snapped.

"Well, I've only just started to realize and figure it out..." Alex replied. He realized another Mechon was approaching him, he just took the beam sword and quickly cut through it at the joints. "_Are we doing the right thing?_"

His mind was going back to Trapped in the Brawl. Nugai made sure that Alex had read it, a lot. Tabuu had said something about about cycles on two separate occasions.

* * *

_"We feed off of the thoughts of your world. If your world were to stop making videogames, our world would step into decline. The same thing would happen if you seal the entrance. Everyone would be forced to continue doing what they have been doing in an endless loop, ignorant that this world drifts slowly to destruction."_

_"But upon doing that, our world will die. With out your world, there will be no way for ours to move forwards. I told you all ready that we will just be in an eternal cycle, repeating the same events, as we drift towards our unknown destruction. The link between the worlds is the most crucial part. Or so everyone believes." Tabuu said. "If there is anyone, who can break the worlds apart so that it could benefit both, I know it would be you."_

* * *

"Then what he said has come to pass..." Alex said, just muttering to himself. "Are we really doing the right thing?" He rushed towards the Masked Man and swung his beam sword, and they collided. Right now, he figured that the best bet was just to take care of everything one step at a time. He'd worry about it after he dealt with the Masked Man. The Masked Man quickly just kicked Alex away.

Lucas thrust his stick in, and the Masked Man just parried away from it.

As Alex struggled to get back up, he just observed the battle. When anyone else tried to interfere, he would deal with them swiftly. But with Lucas, he was barely even making an effort to attack him. He was just blocking any attacks that came his way. "_Was he lying about not recognizing Lucas?_" Alex thought.

Alex just dashed towards The Masked Man once again. This time he switched from swordsman to brawler, and just punched the Masked Man in the stomach while letting off a burst of aura. The Masked Man staggered backwards, he grabbed his stomach, and gasped for air.

The Masked Man began to discharge electricity. Alex just blocked the attack by crossing his arms, however he was still pushed back. When the electricity hit Lucas, it was just sent back to him by the Franklin Badge that Lucas had on. Horror seemed to cross Lucas' face.

"No, stop! Claus! Stop! PK Love!" Lucas shouted, sending the attack right at the Masked Man. It hit him and caused him to stop discharging electricity and stagger backwards. He just looked at Lucas confused. His hand then reached up for his head.

While he was distracted, Shulk jumped forwards and swung the Monado. The Masked Man didn't see it coming and his helmet was cut off. The remains of the helmet just fell down, and hit the ground with a rather noticeable thud. The young boy's orange hair was revealed. Alex just cringed. He held onto his sword and glared at the boy. "That's enough, victory has been decided, you better return."

The Masked Man just looked at all of them, "Victory? No it hasn't." He said. "Not until-"

"Do you think you can fight us all off without the giant Mechon?" Alex said. "You're running low on psychic energy, and nearly everyone else over here has recovered while you were just focused on a few of us. You've lost Claus."

"I don't recall ever giving you my name." Claus said, just glaring at Alex and the recovered Smashers.

"Go." Alex said.

Suddenly a portal appeared behind Claus and he walked into it. A few moments later it just vanished. Alex just let off a heavy sigh of relief, and just collapsed onto his knees. Several people began to run up towards him.

"Why did you let him go?!" Reyn asked.

"We couldn't continue the battle." Alex sighed.

"What are you talking about? Maybe you couldn't but we could!"

"No, we couldn't have continued." Alex said.

"And why not?" Reyn asked.

"You shouldn't be asking me." Alex said. "Talk to Lucas."

Everyone looked at the young boy. He was shaking. His eyes were teared up. Ness rushed over to his friend. "Luke, what's wrong?" he extended his hand, however Lucas slapped it away.

"Don't touch me!" He shouted. He just looked at everyone and backed away until he was against a wall of sword valley. "It really was him..."

"What's going on?" Shulk asked.

"He's feeling exactly like you did back at Prison Island." Alex said.

"How do you know about that?" Shulk asked.

"His entire world had been shattered. That was his twin brother, Claus." Alex replied, ignoring Shulk's question.

"His brother?" Shulk repeated. "Still, you didn't answer my question, how did you know about what happened at Prison Island?"

"You were recapping it with Dickson and telling him everything, remember?" Alex said.

"Oh right, I guess you were there." Shulk nervously laughed.

Alex just glanced over towards Lucas. "Claus... Your alive? But why? Is it Porky again? Just like in my memories..."

"Hey, Luke?" Ness said, walking towards him.

Lucas flinched and looked up at Ness. "Ness..."

"Listen, do you want to talk about what just happened?" Ness said in his normal friendly tone. "I'm here for you, okay?"

Lucas just nodded, and Ness sat down beside him right at the wall of Sword Valley. Everyone else just gave them their space as they recovered and healed from the battle.

"So, that was your brother." Ness said.

Lucas just nodded. "I just don't know what's going on. All of a sudden these memories appeared. All these adventures that we had in the past... I guess past lives? But he was there you two were friends. And then there were different memories where he was dressed up like that and served someone named Porky." Ness just flinched at the mention of the name. Lucas looked up at them. "Is something wrong?"

"Nah, it's probably just a coincidence." Ness replied. "Just I knew someone by the name of Porky too. But he's my next door neighbor, he's a kid just like us.."

"It can't be the same guy then, that Porky was an old man..." Lucas replied. "But every time we'd fight each other, it would end with Claus killing himself." Ness just looked at Lucas in shock. "He would regain his humanity and..." Lucas couldn't finish the sentence. He just began to cry. Ness just leaned over and patted Lucas on the back.

"Just let it all out." Ness said. "You'll feel better afterwards."

Lucas nodded. After a few minutes of crying he stopped and continued with his story. "I could never bring myself to attack him in my memories." Lucas said.

"But you were fighting him here."

"I was lying to myself." Lucas replied. "I was believing that the memories were fake, and when he said that he didn't recognize me, I thought that perhaps it wasn't Claus who was in front of me, and just an impostor to try and stir up the memories. But... If he said I had awakened, and he had awakened too... And we got back these memories of our past lives or something, why didn't he remember me?"

Ness just glanced at his friend. "I don't know if this is it for sure. But it sounded like he was sure that his memories were real. What if they were tampered with and you were removed from his memories because you were a Smasher, or more importantly his brother?"

Lucas blinked a few times, letting Ness' words soak in.

"I mean wouldn't that be a bit of a problem to Hades' plan? I can really only speculate based upon what he said, but he has to have his memories or at least some of them to know what happened in the past, right?" Ness asked.

"Maybe that's it." Lucas said.

"But you found your brother." Ness said. "How do you feel about that?"

"Happy, I think." Lucas replied. "But at the same time, sad, afraid. I'm just questioning everything... Ness, I think I can't continue this mission. Can you tell everyone else?"

Ness just nodded. "Okay, I can do that for you Luke."

"Thanks for being my friend." Lucas smiled.

Ness just got up and walked over to the group. "How is he?" Dunban asked.

Ness just let off a heavy sigh. "He's not doing too well." Ness replied. "Everyone, Lucas no longer want's to participate in this mission."

There was a heavy silence that went through the air. Everyone was just looking rather nervous.

"I guess we could send him back..." Samus said.

Roy let off a heavy sigh. "I mean... yeah he probably needs a lot of time to think this over..."

Alex just looked around rather nervously. He looked at each of the Smasher's faces and then at Lucas who was still there. He took in a deep breath and then just braced himself. "Tough shit!" Alex shouted. "He's staying."

Everyone just glared at Alex. "What?"

"Master, you can't be serious." Zoroark added.

Alex just glanced over at Lucas who was now just glaring at him. "I am serious." Alex replied, not backing down. "He's staying."

The next thing Alex knew was that Samus had grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards her. "We can't have Lucas here like this. It's best if we just send him back."

"I know that." Alex replied. "But we can't send him back. He has to accept and face the truth. He's going to have to fight his brother, whether he wants to or not. It's better if he gets over this sooner rather than later. Besides, he is one of two people who can consistently deal with the Ing. If there's more in there, we can't let him go."

Samus' grip loosened and Alex looked around at the Smashers and the rather concerned group from Bionis.

"Everyone, just let me deal with this." Alex eventually said.

"But, he's my Smasher." Noah pointed out.

"Sorry, but this might be a bit beyond you." Alex sighed.

"Lucas needs to just get back to the mansion!" Ness said. "You can't-"

"How is he going to get back?" Alex asked. "We can't just leave him here and wait until our mission is done, there are killer robots out here. Soon some more will be coming to replace the ones that were destroyed. And if he's alone he'll be an easy target for them."

"Well, there is a recall that can teleport him back." Roy said. "And it's supposed to be used in extreme emergencies. We can try that. Samus, you can contact Master Hand and see if there is a way to get him back to the Smash Mansion."

Alex just cringed. He didn't want that to happen. But perhaps luck was on his side.

"Unfortunately it seems like that can't happen." Samus sighed. "Whatever is causing the anomaly with the Bottle Ship, is interfering with the teleportation. If we go back to where we entered on Valak Mountain, he can be extracted."

"But that would be a huge waste of time, and we don't know how much worse the situation would get from escorting him back." Isaac said.

"And personally, I'm against that idea because then we'd be going back into that giant freezer." Saki pointed out.

"Yes, but you're selfish." Isaac replied. "I'd much rather him back at the Smash Mansion instead of us just doing an escort mission."

"I feel like we really can't waste any more time." Roy said. "And I don't think it's wise to divide the group. Ness, what are your thoughts, you're Lucas' best friend after all."

Ness just looked around at the Smashers. "I don't know." He replied. "Lucas' safety is important, and we need to continue the mission so that Shulk and his group can go to Galahad Fortress."

"Yes, we'd like to rescue Fiora as soon as possible." Shulk said.

"With our numbers, we could be able to protect him." Dunban said.

"Riki will help cheer him up!" Riki said jumping up and down.

"Hayden, Noah, you've been awfully quiet. What are your thoughts?" Samus asked.

Noah just glanced over at Lucas. "I'm going to believe in Lucas, and that he will be able to recover. When the chips were down, and he was given the opportunity, he jumped to save me. I think we should just take him with us."

"I also agree with Alex." Hayden said. "Lucas has to accept what has happened. And if he does it sooner rather than later, it's better for us. And once again, he can fight the Ing. Without him, we'd just have Shulk."

"Okay, so it seems like most of us want to continue the mission with Lucas." Saki said. "Now how are we going to get him to come with us."

"I can drag him along." Ness said. "I know he'll trust me if I say I will protect him."

The Smashers nodded in agreement. "Very well then." Samus said. "Go get him."

Ness just stepped forwards, however Alex quickly called out. "Wait, Ness, can you let me handle this then?" Alex asked. "Please trust me. I promise I can get Lucas back to wanting to continue the mission."

Ness just looked at Alex. "Fine." He said.

"But come with me to talk to Lucas." Alex said. "I hate to say this, but this might get ugly."

Ness just looked at Alex in shock. "What do you mean by that?"

"You may have to stop Lucas." Alex said. "Sorry." Ness was just confused at what Alex had said. "Just if it looks like Lucas has lost control... please step in and stop him. Preferably before I'm a bloody pulp." Alex just walked forwards and motioned for Ness to follow. "Everyone else, we'll meet you in the Bottle Ship. Just go in and scout out the area and make sure no Mechon are hiding in the docking bay."

They nodded and just walked to the Bottle Ship.

Ness and Alex approached Lucas who hadn't really moved, now he was just drawing something in the dirt with his finger.

"Hey, Lucas..." Ness said, running ahead to help his friend. "Everyone has decided that you have to come with us, you can't go back to the Mansion."

"I don't want to." Lucas replied, rather depressed.

"I know you don't, but... I'm sorry." Ness said. "We don't know how much longer we have, and we want to get rid of the Bottle Ship quickly. If we escort you back to where you can be teleported it will take too long."

Alex just walked towards Lucas. "Lucas, we have to continue the mission."

"I don't want to." Lucas repeated, this time with a bit of hostility in his voice.

"Claus wouldn't like seeing you like that." Alex said.

Lucas' response was a swift punch right to Alex's stomach. Alex just staggered backwards, he had braced himself slightly for it, but it wasn't really enough. Ness just looked on in shock. "Don't you dare talk like you know how Claus would feel!" He snapped.

Alex just walked forwards, and didn't bother returning the punch. He just looked at the young psychic. He looked so pitiful.

"I kind of wondered how it was going to work here." Alex said. "I wanted to ask you what happened to your brother, and desperately hoped that he was just on the farm. But it seems like the worse scenario has happened. I was prepared and ready, but I doubt you were. You know he works for our enemies now. We're going to have to fight him again."

Lucas just punched Alex once again, he staggered backwards. "Just leave me alone, I'm going back to the Smash Mansion." Lucas said.

"No you're not." Alex replied.

"And why not?" Lucas asked. "My brother is alive. I can go after him and save him!"

"He's dead." Alex bluntly said.

Lucas didn't take that well and just punched Alex once again. He staggered backwards. Ness rushed to Alex's side to help him, however Alex just shook his head.

"And how do you know that?" Lucas asked.

"I know that because I played through your game." Alex replied. "Your brother died there too. He was brought back to life as a cyborg. He lost his consciousness and was just a machine. He doesn't know or recognize you! And it looks like something similar happened here too."

"So you knew!?" Lucas shouted, pounding his fists against Alex. "You knew the whole time and you didn't say anything!"

"You're right, I knew." Alex calmly said.

Lucas threw a punch right at Alex's jaw. It was reinforced with PK energy, however, Alex had made sure that there was a bit or aura armor right there to make sure that his jaw didn't shatter. He still went flying up into the air, and fell to the ground. He got back up and looked at Lucas. Lucas ran right at him in rage, and punched Alex again, this time in the stomach. Alex just bore with it. He wanted to say that everyone knew. But was afraid that Lucas would attack them as well. He figured that it would just be better this way, if Lucas only attacked him. If he only was angry at him.

Lucas continued to throw several more punches at Alex. Each one hit as Alex didn't make any actual effort to dodge. He just let them hit him until Lucas was a crying mess. Lucas just collapsed on the ground, he didn't care about the dirt. He just lied there and cried, and cried.

"Let it all out." Alex said. Rubbing the boy's back to try and comfort him.

"I hate you." Lucas said.

"It's my role to be hated." Alex said. "Now come on, we need to enter the ship."

Lucas just stubbornly shook his head. "I'm not going."

Alex just sighed. He picked up the psychic boy and just slung him over his shoulder. Lucas began to throw a tantrum swinging his arms and legs, constantly hitting Alex, but between the armor, and reinforcing his body with aura, they weren't exactly strong strikes, but they were getting annoying.

"Listen, I think we can save your brother." Alex said. Almost instantly Lucas' constant attacks stopped.

"What?!" Ness said shocked.

"You mean it?" Lucas asked.

Alex just nodded. "Yes." He said. "I think your brother is still alive underneath that shell." He knew the ending of Mother 3 quite well. How Claus was able to regain control of his body, and stop being Porky's slave. "Your brother is strong. And I don't think he completely forgot about you. He was always holding back during the battle against you. Anyone else he would deal with quickly, but you. He just avoided your attacks, and barely struck back."

Lucas tried to recall the battle that had only happened moments before. A smile crossed Lucas' face.

"Listen, when we get back, we can go and save him with a team, okay?" Alex suggested. "I'm positive he has a role to play in this, and it's not just going to be as Hades' puppet." Alex was positive that Claus was one of the people that he had seen in his visions."Anyways, I know you can reach out to him and save him."

"How do you know?" Lucas asked.

"Well, I'm a big brother too. And I want to protect my little brother." Alex smiled. "No mater what I'd never forget about my younger brother. And, I'm sure Claus is the same." Alex just placed Lucas down on the ground and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Now then, no more tantrums?"

Lucas just brought up his leg to kick Alex right in the crotch. For the first time, Alex actually made an effort to avoid the attack by jumping back.

"Luke, that's not cool!" Ness said.

"Yeah seriously, don't do that." Alex added on.

"Okay, I'm fine now." Lucas said.

"All right." Alex calmly said. "Let's go meet up with everyone else."

They made it to the entrance of the Bottle Ship. Lucas had rushed in and glanced back at Alex who had frozen in place just outside of it. Lucas looked a bit confused. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I'm just thinking about something." Alex sighed.

"What?" Lucas wondered.

"Just thinking that I would never have to experience this again." Alex sighed. "Now I'm living it... Maybe I'm lucky and the Mechon have invaded and all ready killed Adam..."

"What are you talking about?" Lucas wondered.

"Just some sick fantasies. But never mind." Alex sighed stepping into the bottle ship. Ness followed.

As Alex entered the hanger he noticed that there were scraps of Mechon all over. He rushed over to a few piles of scrap metal and it looked like a few of them had been hit by explosives. He soon saw everyone else gathering in front of a ship that had been parked in the hanger. On it was an emblem of the Galactic Federation. "The Galactic Federation..." Samus said.

Alex just froze. He turned to Samus and just looked at her. "Samus." Alex said. "No matter what happens ahead, I want you to remember one thing. You are a member of the Smashers and operating as one of them, not as a member of the Galactic Federation, or even one of their hired hands. We are on a mission that decides the fate of the universe, and that will supersede anything they say."

"Why are you saying that?"

They heard an explosion and all turned to a hallway. Alex just cringed. "Crap... we're at the very beginning of this mess, aren't we..."

They quickly rushed down a hallway. They heard another explosion and everyone grabbed their weapons. It wasn't long until they came across a group of six people in gray power armor who were trying to open the door. They turned around, aiming their weapons at the group.

"Ah... Fancy meeting you here, Princess." One of them said walking forwards. He pressed something on the side of the helmet and the visor went up, revealing the dark skinned man underneath. "Remember me?"

Samus just looked at the person armor. "Anthony Higgs."

"You know each other?" Noah questioned.

"Kind of sort of..." She said. "He's in the Galactic Federation."

"So does the Galactic Federation normally allow people to be referred to as sexist pet titles, instead of their actual name and rank?" Alex snarked. "Because, if that's the case, I can see why you left."

"It wasn't that, but when you say it like that, it does come across as something incredibly unprofessional." Samus admitted.

"Come on, Samus, don't give me that treatment." He said, as he pushed down some of his comrades weapons. "I mean, we haven't seen each other since that last mission a few years ago and you went and joined the Smashers. But I didn't think we were strangers."

With the Galactic Federation side having lowered their weapons everyone else put away their weapons. But there was still a bit of tension in the air.

"Hey, and your buddy's here too!" Anthony said motioning to one of the other people in the indistinguishable gray armor, and opaque yellow visor.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

Samus let off a heavy sigh. "Hello Adam, it's nice to see you too."

"Shit, he's not dead yet." Alex muttered underneath his breath.

"Who's he?" Noah asked.

"General Adam Malkavich, my former superior officer in the Galactic Federation." Samus explained.

"It's Commander Adam Malkavich now."

"Oh, so you got demoted, and shifted from the Army military ranks, to the Navy military ranks?" Alex questioned.

"Answer my question, what are you doing here?" Adam asked again, ignoring Alex.

"I'm going to have to ask the same to you, what are you doing here?" Samus asked.

"That information is not for a bunch outsiders." Adam replied.

Alex just laughed, and everyone turned their heads to him. "Outsider? Boy we're not going to get along, are we? Fine, we're here because this space station has merged with their planet." Alex just pointed towards Shulk's group. "And we're trying to defuse it. Considering the danger that their planet is in, and how they aren't outsiders, and you are in this case, I think you better start explaining, Commander."

"There was a distress signal from the Bottle Ship." Adam said.

"And that distress signal required the presence of a Commander?" Alex questioned.

Adam just glared at him. "We were the only ship in the area, we doing a routine training exercise. A distress signal of course canceled our training exercises."

"With only five guys?" Alex questioned.

Adam however just ignored Alex. "Upon arrival at the Bottle Ship, the entire Bottle Ship was teleported away, and arrived at this place. We tried to go outside, however we were ambushed by several robots. We were able to disable some of them, and retreat back into the Bottle Ship, for whatever reason, after the first few entered and were destroyed, they chose not to follow." Adam explained. "It seems that they are acting cautiously around the Bottle Ship."

"Probably because as long as you stayed inside, you were trapped, and they weren't going to waste further resources on you." Dunban said.

"Of course, I'm sure the Perfect Military Mind (Trademark), could have figured that out." Alex snarked.

One of the soldiers turned to Adam. "Commander, we're all prepped." The soldiers just backed away from the door. "Everyone turn away." They did, and a moment later there was an explosion behind them. They turned around and saw that despite the singe marks, the door hadn't been opened.

"Ahh. No dice!" One of the Galactic Federation troopers said. "I think our only option is to use the laser to slowly burn our way through. This is gonna take a while..."

"_And how long have they been here all ready? Sure is a good thing there wasn't a distress signal, and they're wasting an undisclosed amount of time on the first door when people could be dying..._" Alex thought.

Anthony just approached Samus. "The electrical system here is out, and we can't get the barrier wall to open. We tried using explosives, but it's tricky to pull of without collateral damage. What we need is some way to focus the power onto one centralized location..." He explained.

Samus just aimed her arm cannon at the door. "Everyone stand back." She said, as she fired a missile. It exploded, and destroyed a portion of the doors shielding. It was enough for one of the Galactic Federation soldiers to force open the doors. He made sure that it was clear and motioned for the others to follow.

The Galactic Federation soldiers rushed through the now open door. "All right. I'm gonna go on ahead." Anthony said.

He departed, the only Galactic Federation Soldier that was left was Adam. He just was glaring at Samus through his nearly completely opaque mask. He eventually just began to walk to the now open doors.

Alex just turned to the group from Bionis and the Smashers. "So, I guess we need to continue onward." Alex said. "There's no telling how long this is going to take."

"I'm getting the feeling that our mission and theirs will intersect." Samus said. "Well for right now, there's only one way to go anyways, and we might as well follow them, there is strength in numbers."

The group nodded and began to walk down the hallways. Alex however just stayed behind. He pulled out the door and inspected it, there were numerous dents on it, it was clear that the squad from the galactic federation had been trying to open it for a while. He couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Hayden wondered.

"They really couldn't go through the front door without Samus' help." Alex replied, he pushed the door back into it's slot in the wall and just following everyone else. "This is going to be painful, yet at the same time, glorious and a bit relieving."

"What do you mean?"

"Ever play a game and just start shouting at the character on screen during a cut scene, something like 'just shoot that stupid thing! It's clearly trouble and going to come back later to haunt you! Just do it!' and if you were in complete control you actually would do it?"

"Yes?" Hayden said.

"That's Metroid: Other M in a nutshell." Alex replied. "This is going to be so therapeutic... I've all ready been having a bit of fun."

"If you say so."

"Just one question."

"Okay, shoot."

"Are you afraid of bugs?"

Hayden just glanced at Alex rather confused. "No, why?"

"A boss battle is coming up."

* * *

With Dark Pit, Phosphora, and Magnus the trek through the Underworld had continued as expected. However, they were soon stopped by a giant white, otherworldly looking thing. "This is the Underworld Gatekeeper." Dark Pit laughed. "Looks like we're on the right track..."

"Well, I'll cut through it just like everything else." Magnus said.

"And I'll just continue zapping it!" Pandora laughed.

Dark Pit, just grabbed his First Blade and held it in front of him. "All right, let's get rid of this thing!" He shouted. "This should be just as easy as the last time I took it out!"

The Underworld Gatekeeper began to constantly spray out little energy bullets. Even after they damaged the Underworld Gatekeeper and destroyed the turrets, they soon found that their attacks were doing nothing.

The three of them took cover behind a giant bolder.

"How did you beat it last time?" Phosphora shouted annoyed.

"I may have kicked it."

"You kicked it?!" Magnus said.

"I may of just accidentally hit the perfect spot..." Dark Pit replied. "I thought it was just a pushover, and Pit was struggling with it, and... I probably just hit it's weak point. We're not going to be able to do much more against it. Pit had the Three Sacred Treasures back then, and even then he couldn't beat it."

Magnus just sighed. "So either you kick it again, or we find another way through."

Phosphora just looked at the Underworld Gatekeeper. "I may have something that can defeat it." She said. "I was hoping to save this for use against Hades, but desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Why? Is it some attack that can only be used once?" Dark Pit asked.

"No, just has a lot of the element of surprise to it." Phosphora replied. She took off her scarf and just flew up into the air. The Underworld Gatekeeper focused it's attention on her. Dark Pit and Magnus quickly began to attack the Underworld Gatekeeper, to distract it. It shifted it's attention to them and Phosphora disappeared, or rather she had transformed into lightning and gone out of the Underworld Gatekeeper's range.

Phosphora just stretched out her hand, her scarf had turned into a bow. She followed up by stretching out her other hand and a lightning bolt appeared in front of it. She just closed her eyes and focused on it. "No, it's not good enough, sharper, faster." After several minutes she was satisfied with the lightning bolt, she had shaped it into an arrow. But not just any arrow, the head was pointed like a drill. She grabbed the arrow and teleported back to the battle. She put it in the bow, pulled back the string, aimed and fired.

The attack hit and pierced right through the Underworld Gatekeeper, causing it to explode a moment later. "There." She said, landing on the ground.

Magnus and Dark Pit just nodded and began to catch their breath. "All right, a quick break before we continue." Dark Pit said.

* * *

Mission control was actually rather boring, as Oren had quickly found out. The first thing they found out was that there was a time difference between the world and them. The world that they were watching was going at least 16 times the speed that they were used to. It was like watching a movie in a super fast mode. The only Smasher that could follow along was ROB who was now directly hooked up to the machine and doing all the work himself.

The others could watch, but it was essentially just everything going super fast, they were barely able to register anything. A battle would start, and less than a second later it would be over.

"I'm sorry." Master Hand said. "It seems that ROB and myself are the only ones who can actually do this." He just let off a heavy sigh. "I will watch over them, and hopefully we can manage. In the mean time, I guess you just have to enjoy the amenities of the Smash Mansion."

And just like that everyone began to disperse through the mansion.

"Good, we got off of that duty." Pikachu smiled from Oren's shoulder.

"Yeah." Rune added in. "So, I was considering swimming in the pool here, want to join me Oren?"

"No, sorry." Oren replied.

"All right, suit yourself." Rune said walking away.

Oren just wandered through the Smash Mansion, while Pikachu just remained on his shoulder. "Why did you not want to go with them?" Pikachu asked.

"I don't know, does it feel right to be relaxing when every moment counts?" Oren wondered.

"Well, it's not your fault that there were only a limited number of people who could enter into the world." Pikachu said.

"Still, I feel like we should have gone with Pit to help him too." Oren said. "But instead we're just back here at the Mansion, just doing nothing. I feel useless."

Pikachu just patted the back of Oren's head. "I see, but I think maybe you should learn to just take advantage of the time you have right now. Once everything starts up, you'll probably be begging for a moment of peace and quiet like this." Pikachu jumped off of Oren's shoulder and just began to walk away. "Well, I'm going to go do something, if you need anything, give a shout, okay?"

"Right." Oren said.

Oren just traveled through the Smash Mansion, feeling rather out of place. He considered watching TV, but couldn't really bring himself to enter into the room and join the Smashers. He just walked away, and then froze when he heard something.

"Oh, it seems the shut in has decided to come out." A female voice said. "And what do you want?"

Oren peered around the corner and just looked at the three woman, the other three Chosen Champions. Lily just currently had her arms wrapped around Kirby, and was facing Grace and Chloe.

"I'm here to stop you. I want to tell you what you're about to do is pointless." Lily replied.

"Oh, and how do you know what we're about to do?" Chloe asked.

Lily just bit her lip. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." She replied. "But what you're doing is a mistake. He's not even going to make it out from this mission. Wouldn't it be better to pool our remaining strengths?"

Grace just scoffed and walked past her. Chloe followed. Oren just pressed himself against the wall, as the two passed by him, hoping that they didn't notice him. When they had disappeared from sight, Oren just peered over the corner to see Lily crying.

"I failed again." She muttered.

Kirby was just giving her a reassuring pat on the back. Oren just took a step forwards, and both of their heads turned and was staring at him.

"What do you mean that someone isn't going to make it out from the mission?" Oren asked.

"You heard that?" She said. "I'm sorry, but, I don't know beyond that Alex won't make it out."

"How do you know this?" Oren asked.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." Lily replied.

"No, trust me, I'll believe you." Oren said. "If it can save his life."

There was just a moment of silence. She looked up at Oren and just nodded. "Okay." Was all she managed to say. "I can see into other timelines or parallel dimensions or something. I don't know how it works, but I can see into them, and I see what happened, and I can retain some information and..."

"Okay, I believe you." Oren said. "So what's going to happen now?"

"They're going to destroy the 3DS' that were left here." She said. "All of them, they don't know which is the one they want so... You have to do something."

Oren just nodded. "Okay!" He said rushing off, running through the twisting halls of the Smash Mansion. He managed to catch up with Chloe and Grace to at the room that was holding the 3DS'. They were just there on a pedestal with nothing guarding them.

"Stop." Oren shouted.

Chloe and Grace just turned to face the person.

"Stop what?" Grace asked innocently.

"I won't let you destroy those 3DS'." Oren replied.

"Oh, we were just looking, there's no harm in that, right?" Chloe wondered.

Oren just glared at them. "Drop the act." He snapped. "I know you're going to destroy those 3DS'."

Their was a bit of confusion and fear across their faces. However that quickly vanished. "So? Do you really think you can stop us?" Chloe asked. "You're just one person."

"Your right!" Oren said stretching out his hand. "I'm just one person, but I can summon my Smashers."

"And so can we." Chloe countered. "And our Smashers will outnumber your Smashers."

Oren just stared at them

"Although, I do have a question for you. How did you even know what we were doing?" Grace asked.

"Lily told me." Oren replied.

"Oh, so she's still as weak and pathetic as she was before." Grace sighed. "She isn't even strong enough to stop us herself, she had to go and get someone else."

"She's probably manipulating you too. If I were you, I wouldn't trust her. You don't know a single thing about her." Chloe said.

"I'm willing to at least trust her more than you." Oren said.

"And what has she done to earn your trust? And even if she's right about this, what if she's just acting as your friend for right now?" Chloe replied.

"I don't care about that, right now I'm just trying to stop people from destroying my allies 3DS'!" Oren said frustrated. "Why are you doing this?!"

"They were stupid enough to leave them back here." Chloe replied. "No one can look after them."

Oren just glared at them. "They're on a mission to save your sorry ass. And you stab them in the back like this."

"We really only need to eliminate the one named Alex." Chloe said. "If we knew which one his 3DS was, we would easily just destroy that one, but now all 3 have to go."

Oren just clenched his fist, his knuckles were going white.

"But you know, you've teamed up with him, so you must know which one is his 3DS." Grace added on, lightly touching his shoulder. "Tell you what, you tell us, and I can repay you, somehow..." She punctuated each word with a puckering of her lips.

Oren just raised his hand and suddenly all three 3DS's disappeared. The two of them just looked at the resting spot and then at Oren confused. "What did you do?" Chloe asked.

"I used my special ability." Oren replied. "Folder. I can store anything away, at least inanimate objects, and only I can retrieve it. If you leave now, we can forget this ever happened."

The two just glared at him.

"Looks like we can eliminate four people today." Chloe said, laughing.

Oren just let off a heavy sigh. "I see, so we have to do this the hard way. I'm sorry, I'll make your elimination quick then." In front of him a bunch of different file folders appeared.

* * *

Meanwhile:

Back at Valak Mountain, a large purple dragon had approached a cave. It suddenly froze and just began to growl.

Something had been in it's cave. It sniffed the air, getting the scents of the creatures that had entered the cave. And then he entered into the cave and then it saw the scattered food. Barely none of its stockpiled food remained. The scent of the intruders was everywhere.

It got out of its cave and just let out a loud deafening roar. The creatures of Valak Mountain began to flee in terror. The dragon just began to remember the scent, and flew up into the air. Looking for who had trespassed. It was furious, and was ready to hunt down the people responsible to even the furthest reaches of the Bionis or Mechonis. And nothing was going to stop it.

Unfortunately, the cave that the Smashers had been in, belonged to none other than Avalanche Abaasy.

* * *

File 1

Do you want to save?

YES

Party: Alex, Zoroark, Saki, Isaac, Noah, Lucas, Samus, Hayden, Ness, Roy, Shulk, Reyn, Sharla, Dunban, Melia, Riki, Adam, Anthony, Red Shirt 1, Red Shirt 2, Red Shirt 3, Obviously Evil Guy

**10 Chosen Champions Remain**

* * *

**Notes: Yeah, if I haven't made it clear, I don't like Metroid: Other M. This is going to be fun.  
**

**If you didn't know, Red Shirt is a term that basically means expendable. In the game, they were killed. What happens here... Well who knows. (I'm still writing it... I don't actually know...)**

**I didn't notice it until I started transcribing Xenoblade Chronicles, but they really like to over explain stuff, or point out the obvious, in dialogue and repeat it a few times.**

**I had actually thought of having Reyn and Zoroark succeed in getting Fiora out of Nemesis, but... There's Spoiler reasons for why that didn't happen.**

**Bottle Ship: I think all caps looks stupid. Especially since the letters don't actually stand for anything. Personal choice, but that's why it's not BOTTLE SHIP in this story. **

**Actually looking at a Metroid Wiki I got this little gem: "Commander Adam Malkovich**, **previously General Adam Malkovich"... General is an army ranking, Commander is a navy ranking... The Army equivalent being Lieutenant Colonel. I wish I could say I was making this up, but he actually dropped ranks. Somehow that brings me joy.  
**

**Avalanche Abaasy: Is a level 120 Super boss in Xenoblade Chronicles. ******It is the highest level monster in the game.** By the way, the level cap for the players is 99.  
**


	9. You shouldn't have done that

**Urgh, wanted to post this during September. Decided to start writing a Splatoon Fanfic instead...  
**

* * *

Chapter 9: You shouldn't have done that, little brat.

On board the Great Fox, everyone was preparing themselves. Some, such as Mario, Luigi, and Olimar took the time to relax. Captain Falcon, on the other hand was throwing a bunch of punches, preparing himself for any fights that may happen. Fox was stuck piloting the ship, and trying to decipher the Luma's rather cryptic directions.

But, eventually they made it to where the comet observatory once was. Now it was heavily damaged. Many parts were floating off of it and away. "We've arrived." Fox said into a speaker system that broadcasted the message across the ship.

A few minutes later everyone else had made it to the bridge and just looked out at the ruins of the once majestic comet observatory. "It's worse than I imagined." Mario said.

"Should we go out onto it and investigate?" Fox asked.

"Yes, we have to find any traces of Rosalina." Mario said. "If she's still there..."

Fox just nodded, and they were all teleported out onto the comet observatory.

They all just walked around inspecting the place. But it quickly became clear that the place had been completely abandoned. All that was left was just ruin. The Luma just began to cry.

"Mama! Where are you? Mama!"

"It's okay." Mario said

"Were we too late?" Fox said afraid.

Captain Falcon just looked around, at all of the signs of the battles that had taken place here. "Did the Swarm catch her?"

"No, I don't think so." Mario said. "Rosalina wouldn't let herself get captured so easily."

"Mario!" Luigi suddenly shouted. "I found something!"

They all rushed over to Luigi. He was standing in front of a sealed door. "No mater what I do, this door remains sealed shut." Luigi said.

They just looked at the door. Fox tried pushing it. Captain Falcon threw a punch, however it was reflected by a barrier. Upon seeing this the Luma chirped happily. It touched the door and the barrier was dispelled, allowing them to open the door. They all just walked inside. They found themselves within a library, like everything else it had been abandoned. However, unlike everything else it looked like there was no damage to this area. There was a single rocking chair with a book on it.

Mario just walked forwards to the book, he saw that there was a star brooch on top of the book and then he touched it. There was suddenly a majestic blue light. Standing in the room was a womanly figure, however it looked like her body was covered by the cosmos themselves. "Mama!?" The luma chirped. It rushed for the figure however only passed through it.

"I am sorry little one, that I have abandoned the comet observatory." The figure said. "Smashers, I'm assuming that this little one has guided you back to here, unfortunately I had no choice but to leave behind the comet observatory and flee. Only leaving this Cosmic Spirit behind to tell you that I'm okay, and to answer any questions that I may know the answers to."

"Then, is this live, or just all prerecorded messages?" Fox wondered.

"This is indeed live." The Cosmic Spirit replied. "I'm able to talk, and control this spirit through this brooch. I have an identical one. But those details aren't important right now. I'm sure once it notices that the barrier around this place is gone, it will attack once again."

"Rosalina, how did you escape?" Mario asked.

"An ally of ours, Lubba, had sensed our distress and got here on the Starship Mario. It's ability to create and access portals was enough to allow us to escape that which pursues us; the Swarm."

"Where are you now?" Mario asked.

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that question." The cosmic figure replied. "Well, at not accurately. I'm on the Starship Mario, however our final destination is currently unknown. Lubba will be taking us somewhere, and he has not said where."

"Why did the Swarm attack?" Fox asked.

The Cosmic Spirit just walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out a book. She opened up a page and there was notes on the Swarm. "The Swarm seeks energy." Rosalina replied. "Energy to strengthen itself, reproduce, and evolve. What would have more energy than stars?"

"What is this book?!" Olimar said a bit shocked.

"Polari showed me this book." The Cosmic Spirit replied. "A luma had taken it from a research lab that had been studying the swarm."

"It stole it?" Fox questioned.

"No, that lab had long been destroyed. The lab could no longer contain the swarm. And it had broke free, and left nearly everything in ruin." The Cosmic Spirit replied, handing over the book to Fox.

Fox just began to skim through it. "But who knows how much it has changed since these notes were written." He said. He stopped at a page and let off a small sigh. "Clearly, quite a bit."

"Why, what does it say?" Olimar wondered.

"It seems they were able to contain the Swarm in extreme cold." Fox replied. "Its clearly evolved past that being a weakness, and anything involving being in a vacuum and space. Well, I'll keep this book, hopefully there will still be stuff we can learn about it."

"I'm glad that it can be of use." The Cosmic Spirit said. "It seems that the distance between us is getting too great. It's taking far too much energy to keep this up. If there is ever any time I need to communicate with you, I will do it through the Cosmic Spirit. Just keep this brooch with you." The cosmic spirit said, while touching the star brooch on her chest. The cosmic energy then seemed to go into the star brooch. The brooch just floated in the air and Mario just took it.

"I guess we should return to Master Hand." Mario said. "And tell him what happened."

The other four Smashers nodded in agreement. They walked outside, however appearing on the Comet Observatory was many pieces of the Swarm. It just began to take a physical appearance of a beast.

Fox just quickly pressed something on his watch, and they were all teleported into the Great Fox. He quickly rushed up to several monitors and began to type something. Soon they were seeing a visual of the Swarm on the comet observatory, it just began to disperse, looking for where they had gone, but it never had left the observatory, it was as though it had become extremely possessive.

"Why?" Fox wondered. "It's like an animal that has marked it's territory."

"Could it be waiting for Rosalina to return?" Mario wondered.

"But why did it let us on the place initially?" Fox wondered.

"Perhaps it thought that we would be able to do something, like maybe find Rosalina's hiding spot." Captain Falcon suggested.

"Do these monsters have intelligence?" Olimar wondered.

Suddenly several parts of the Swarm rushed for the Great Fox and latched around it, holding it in place.

"We need to get out of here!" Luigi shouted.

Fox just nodded in agreement and tried to pilot the Great Fox, however it didn't move. He tried putting up a barrier to force the Swarm away, however that was ineffective.

"I'm not liking the look of this..." Fox said.

* * *

Chloe just looked frustrated at Oren. Her perfect plan was just destroyed by this kid, she was going to eliminate that threat to all the worlds, and then she would be a hero. Everything would of been perfect.

Oren had pulled out a Naginata out of a file folder and just held it in front of him.

Grace just sighed. "Should we just do this quickly." She said. "Let our Smashers take care of him."

"Fine." Chloe said. "Although you're on your own, because of that stupid luma and Mario running out, I don't even have my Smashers."

"What are the odds." Grace laughed. "Fine, Summon, King Dedede, Snake!" The two suddenly appeared in front of the three of them, they just looked around confused.

"We were summoned?" Snake said, trying to get his bearings.

"Yes." Grace said. "It seems like this person has decided to ignore the truce, and wants to eliminate us."

Oren just held that naginata in front of him. "Liar." He replied. "You were the one who ignored the truce and tried to destroy my allies' 3DS'."

Snake had a cigarette in his mouth, he just kept it there, and began to walk away. "You interrupted my smoke for that." He muttered. "I'm not in the mood for this."

"I'm honoring the truce and I don't want any part of this." King Dedede said.

Oren just continued to hold the naginata in front of him, not bothering to change his position. "Looks like you've just screwed up." He said. "This is your last chance, leave, and I'll forget that this ever happened."

There was just silence, as they stared each other down, no one wanting to actually make a move, or do anything that would put them at a disadvantage.

"Fine, since our Smashers won't listen to us, let's just kill him." Chloe said. Suddenly several arrows narrowly missed Oren's head. A bomb suddenly dropped by his feet, and he quickly jumped back just as it exploded.

Oren just let off a heavy sigh. "And of course, they're able to use it without using the 3DS." He muttered.

"You're not the only one who has figured out how to use their power without having the 3DS open." Grace said.

Oren just sighed. "It's not like it was that difficult, it was written in the manual."

They fired arrows and bombs towards Oren, who just dodged. If they came too close to him, they were just teleported, filed away into a folder for Oren to use later, or just immediately sent back.

But it quickly became clear that they were just at a stand off, uselessly sending their attacks towards each other, just to keep the other away.

"I think it's time for this charade to end." Grace said. "It's time I used my ability."

Oren just looked at her. "So, the arrows and bombs were all hers?" He said.

Grace just smiled. "Well, sort of, some were mine." She said. "My ability is completely useless on it's own. But... all I have to do is touch someone, and I get their ability."

Oren just looked surprised at them. "What?" He said.

"My ability is Download." Grace said. "Just by touching someone and staying within a few feet, I gain their abilities, and all the knowledge they have. I know how to use them. And now I know everything about you." In front of her appeared several folders. "Those 3DS' are mine." She said. All three of them fell on to the ground, and from another folder, she pulled out a sledge hammer. "Now, I may spare the other two, if you get on your hands and knees and beg, and tell me which 3DS is the targets."

Oren just began to look around, looking for a way out. However several arrows just rushed past his head.

"Maybe you didn't hear her." Chloe said.

"Now, now, destroying all three and then your own 3DS is an option too." Grace laughed. "Now, what's it going to be?"

Oren just collapsed to the ground. It was hopeless, within less than a minute, he had been completely destroyed. He was just dancing in the palm of their hands.

"Looks like he's realized the gravity of the situation, and how much he has screwed up." Grace laughed.

"I'm sorry guys, I failed you, I couldn't protect them..." Oren said.

"So, are you going to tell us who has what 3DS? Or do we have to just smash all 3 of them?" Chloe wondered.

Oren just looked at the 3 3DS' and then just froze. He stared at the Pikachu 3DS. "_What's going on?!_ _That's not..._"

"Hey, the clock's ticking kid."

Oren just stood up. "No." He replied, waving his hands, causing the sledgehammer and the 3 3DS' to disappear. "You may have my ability, and know how it works, but knowing how something works is one thing. Mastering it, is another. An ability's limit is only limited by the imagination of the user!"

"Great, the brat still has some fight left in him."

"Besides, I'm not going to sell out my allies!" Oren said.

A folder appeared in front of Oren and suddenly several swords popped out of it, causing the two assailants to go back. Another folder appeared behind Oren, and arrows began to fly between them, forcing the two women further back.

"A power has to have limitations." Oren said. "I imagine you're allowed to keep our powers, however, we have to be within close proximity of you. And once that connection breaks, you have to reestablish that connecting through physical contact."

"True." Grace said. "However, this room is far too small for it to break my connection."

Oren just smiled. He had figured that, and was anticipating that, as he was now constantly switching the contents of the folders around at random. This was the only way of making sure that she would never get her hands on the 3DS' again. Not even he knew where they were at this point. The only downside was it was going to be a real pain to sort them all once again when this battle was over.

* * *

"Are you afraid of bugs?" The question rang through Hayden's mind, and now he realized why Alex had asked that. It all started with them finding a corpse with green splotches all over it.

"Wow, they were outside trying to open that door for so long, that this corpse had begun growing mold." Alex said. "Are we sure anyone else is still alive?"

And then the body began twitching. From underneath it a giant bug crawled away. One of the Galactic Federation soldiers just began haphazardly shooting at it. Unloading a full clip from his gun at the single bug. Only actually managing to hit with the last few bullets.

And then, it appeared. There was a purple thing. A shapeless monster that was composed up of thousands and thousands of bugs working in conjunction to create a giant monster that towered over them. The was a single eye that was just staring at them.

Alex was quick to take over the situation. "Freeze them in place!" He shouted. Lucas was letting out bursts of PK freeze, the Galactic Federation troopers pulled out freeze guns and shot at it. Soon, one of it's arms was encased in ice. Samus followed up with a missile, causing it to shatter. It didn't destroy all of the purple bugs, called Brugs, but it got rid of a few of them. The ones that survived just went back into the mass. But after several more times it was frozen, and Samus shooting the creature in the eye, the Burgs all just ran away.

Lyle seemed the most relieved of everyone though. "Why did it have to be bugs?" He repeated a few times.

Adam just stepped forwards towards the Smashers and the Bionis crew. He raised his visor and just looked at all of them. "It looks like I'm going to need to ask for your cooperation on this mission." He said. "We're all trapped here otherwise. However, I need you to all follow my orders."

"I think the Smashers need to discuss this." Alex said.

They just stepped outside of the room with everyone. Saki was just looking at Alex. "Why do we need to discuss this?"

"Because right now, I think it's beneficial we stay on his good side. Beyond Samus and possibly the Monado, they have more firepower than us." Alex said.

"Although the one did look like he was trained at the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy." Hayden pointed out.

"True, I guess we could take them, if worse comes to worse. But we also have a little while before anything happens."

"Anything happens?" Isaac said.

"People start dying." Alex replied. He looked over at Samus, and then around the around the room.

"Regardless, I think its in our best interest to all work together and stick together." Roy said. "We can figure out the mysteries of this place as we go along, and then if we have to separate from those guys in the Galactic Federation we'll worry about that then and there."

Alex just nodded, that probably was the best course of action. "I guess we should follow the script then, for now." Alex said.

They walked back into the room. "We feel as though the situation requires us to work together." Alex said. "However, our main goal will be to find what has caused the Bottleship and the worlds of Bionis and Mechonis to merge together. We would respect that any information that you have found may be granted to us."

Adam just nodded.

"Exactly what transpired here on the Bottleship is still uncertain. Here's what we do know: the equipment we thought had been destroyed is operational again, and we've seen casualties attributed to an unidentified and lethal creature. The situation is critical. We need to gather all the information we can, but priority one is to find any survivors and bring them to safety. Consider this site extremely dangerous. Be careful as you make your sweeps. And there's one problem. The wireless interference in this facility is all-pervasive. Your comm systems are useless. As a result, communication channels will be limited to the facility's navigation booths. Well then... Lyle! Investigate Sector 1. And show a little restraint with the explosives."

"Gotcha!" Lyle said.

"Maurice! You cover Sector 2. Repair any equipment you come across."

"Affirmative." Maurice said.

"Anthony! You're Sector 3. I'll leave it to you to decide whether plasma guns are called for."

"All right!" Anthony said.

"James! Check out the Control Bridge. Our communication issues might be the result of electrical interference."

"Yes sir!"

"And, K.G.! Run a complete sweep of the residential quarters and investigate any trace of survivors."

"Got it!"

"Each of you is authorized to use a freeze gun. Do not forget to check in regularly via navigation booths. That is all for you." Adam then just focused on the Smashers and the group from Bionis. "I guess that just leaves you guys." He sighed. "Honestly, I don't know what you should be doing. Some of you aren't equipped with defensive gear that should be required for a place such as this. Some even are dressed up in civilian attire. We don't have any extra armor for you."

"That's fine, we can take care of ourselves." Ness said.

"Very well then, I trust that's true. Now, Samus, can I ask for your assistance?" Adam asked.

"Of course." Samus replied.

Adam just nodded. "First of all, can you go to the System Management room and get the electrical system back up and running? We passed it on the way here."

"Right." Samus said. "I remember seeing that."

"After that, I'll leave you with the Smashers to do your own investigation." Adam said. "Just, I wish to restrict power bombs. As this is primarily a search and rescue mission, if you are using them they can accidentally vaporize any survivors."

"Understood. I had no intention of using them in the first place." Samus said.

"And it seems like I can access your communications system. Along with seeing everything that you see on this screen." Adam said. "Does everyone understand your current objectives?"

"Sir yes sir!" the Galactic Federation troopers said. They quickly began to gather their gear and depart.

Samus just faced the Smashers. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She said, departing for the system management room. The Smashers just stood around, trying to size up their current situation, and figure out how to proceed.

Alex however was strangely silent.

"Hey, is something bothering you?" Ness asked.

Alex just nodded. "It's what Claus said." Lucas just flinched at the mention of his brother. "It's just been on my mind. About how the worlds are repeating cycles. But the Ing weren't in this game, and now that's bothering me too."

"Is there something we can do?" Noah asked.

"I guess try and follow the plot of the game, and go to the Exam Center in Sector 1." Alex said.

"Okay, so that's our main plan for right now." Roy said. "Should a few of us go on ahead and secure the area?"

"No, we should go together." Alex replied. They heard the hum of the electrical system coming back on. "Samus should be here in a few minutes, and then we can all depart together." Alex however just looked at a computer that was against the wall. "Wait, a second, this is stupid. We're in a gigantic secret research facility, the only people who were supposed to know about this place were here. Surely every single computer would be connected to a network... Why do we need to go the to the exam center..."

"Wait, you're asking why you had to do it in the game?" Hayden asked.

"No, I remember why we had to do it in the game, you were railroaded there. Just like everything else." Alex replied. "But here... We're free to investigate what we can... so..."

He just began to turn on a computer. However after looking at the keyboard, Alex began to realize something. He didn't know any passwords to this place. Even though the system was in English that was all pointless when he was denied access. He just pulled out the Samus card and the holographic monitor appeared. Quickly the monitor began to interact with the computer and it worked it's magic. Soon they were in the Galactic Federation's files.

"Master Hand, or ROB can you copy all these files?" Alex asked.

"Yes, of course." A voice replied.

"And if there are any Smashers there, distribute the files, and have them start reading through them to see if anything is of note." Alex said

"Confirmed, however scans state that many of these files are in different languages." ROB said. "We will do our best."

Alex just held out the Samus card and several more of the holographic monitors appeared. They just moved to in front of each and every Smasher. "Start reading and seeing if you can find anything."

Everyone just nodded and began to go through the files. Adam however was looking down, and quickly realized what they were doing.

"What are you doing?" Adam asked. "That's top secret information in the Galactic Federation."

"Yeah, you weren't going to tell us anything anyways." Alex replied. "Especially about Sector Zero, how this place was made by some rouge faction of the Galactic Federation. Bioweapons..."

"I didn't know any of this stuff." Adam said.

"Yeah, can we quit with the lies?" Alex said. "Because I know, that you knew some stuff. In fact you were lying about the reason why you came here. This wasn't some routine training exercise and you got a distress signal. This was a task force set up to find out the truth. And experiments involving cloning and making freeze proof Metroids."

"How do you know that?" Adam asked.

"That's irrelevant." Alex said. "Listen, Adam, I can be either your greatest ally, or your worst nightmare right now. Are we going to work together, or are you going to make this difficult?"

Adam just nodded. "Fine, I'll work with you."

"Great." Alex said. "I'll set this up, up there where you're watching everything."

Alex went up. Meanwhile nearly everyone else began to read through the files that they had found. The only two Smashers who weren't was Roy and Isaac, as they couldn't actually read English. Shulk, while he couldn't read English, was still scrolling through a separate monitor and page, just looking at the pictures, slightly curious about the strange alien species.

"Wait, I think I found something." Shulk said.

Everyone glanced up, and quickly rushed over to Shulk. On his monitor was an illustration of the Ing. "Yeah, I'd definitely say that's relevant." Saki said. "Let's see, Bottle Ship research specimen #532. Ing. Using a chunk of preserved phazon we have been able to recreate the creatures known as Ing from Samus Aran's scan journals from Aether. Although, violent, we are able to contain them. They also can't venture that far from the phazon that birthed them. We will begin investigating their merging capabilities with other creatures on the Bottle Ship."

"This is big." Hayden said. "So the Ing were created on the Bottle Ship."

"So if we get rid of this ship, those creatures will go away." Reyn said.

"Seems like it." Dunban said. "At least things are starting to look up."

"And that answered some questions." Noah said.

They continued to look through the information. Alex soon came down from his discussion with Adam, and a few minutes later Samus walked through the doors.

"Okay, I'm back from restoring power." Samus announced. "What happened while I was out?"

"Oh, Adam and I had a small conversation." Alex said. "For the most part, we've managed to put our differences aside. We've managed to hack into the Galactic Federation's network and figured out what was going on here, and currently we're just sorting through the information to try and find other stuff."

"We have discovered that the Galactic Federation was making bioweapons here." Adam replied.

"What?!" Samus shouted. "But bioweapons are illegal!"

"Yes..." Adam replied. "There is a separate faction in the Galactic Federation that is responsible for this. We came here to investigate it, find proof and return to prosecute them."

"The Ing are also being created here." Saki said.

"But that's impossible, I destroyed the source of all phazon. And with it there was a chain reaction that destroyed any phazon that was left." Samus said.

"Well, somehow, they got their hands on some." Saki said, "and they created the Ing using it."

"Even knowing how dangerous the Ing and Metroids are, why are they proceeding?" Samus asked.

"I don't know." Adam replied. "It will now be your mission to seek out the truth. At the very least, the Galactic Federation must of had some plan, or way, to control them."

"Would it be the same way as the Metroids?" Alex muttered.

"The best option now is to find any survivors." Adam said. "And then, we need to regroup with everyone. I'll tell everyone to gather at a spot in sector 1. You're to all go there and meet them."

They nodded, and proceeded to walk to the elevator to sector 1. As they got in, they just began to look through the holographic monitors as the elevator descended.

"That's strange... I don't understand." Hayden said.

"Understand what?" Alex asked.

"It says here that the Galactic Federation intended to breed out the Metroid's weakness to ice." Hayden replied. "But that's impossible."

Everyone just looked at him. "Why?" Samus asked.

"It's science." Hayden replied. "Metroids are energy based organisms, the reason they were weak to cold is because cold is the absence of kinetic energy. You can't just breed that out."

Alex just stared at him in shock. "Wow, that makes everything amazingly pointless. And I just always thought that it was a pointless venture to begin with because the Metroids lose their weakness to cold in their second stage, the Alpha Metroid stage. And they would know this because they have a Queen Metroid."

Samus just froze. "Wait, there's a Queen Metroid on this ship!?"

Alex just looked around. "Yeah..." He said.

"What's a Queen Metroid?" Roy asked.

"The quickest way to describe it, is like a queen bee, Metroids come from a Queen Metroid." Samus said.

"So, this place can be crawling with Metroids?" Roy asked.

"Possibly." Samus said.

"But, we don't have to worry about it until later." Alex said. "There are only two specific areas with Metroids."

The elevator landed, and they were greeted with just cold metal hallways. Alex just froze and looked around. "Master, is something wrong?" Zoroark asked.

"I don't like this place." Alex muttered. "Its cold and sterile. Just like a hospital."

They walked into a room, and was greeted with a Navigation booth.

"I see you've all made it." Adam's voice came through the speaker. "In the room up ahead, Lyle went straight, however I would like you all to take the left door. There's something that I think needs to be investigated there."

"What?" Samus asked.

"From the files in the computer, and any map, it just says breeding room." Adam said. "See if there's any trace of any thing that was bred in there."

They just nodded, and followed the route. There were no creatures that were coming out to attack them. Nothing, not even Ing.

They soon found the supposed 'breeding' room. Inside, there were trees, to make it look like a forest. But it was quite clear that it was a cage. There was a window, that had been made with some kind of reinforced glass that they could use to peer into the room. Inside of the cage, on the ground there was old blood stains. On a desk they found a journal, Samus just took it and began to read.

"Little Birdie. The mysterious creature that appeared from the cell samples that we received. It appears to be a peaceful and playful creature."

"Little Birdie?" Reyn said.

"Just reading this journal." Samus replied. "Just appears that they were observing it. But, the entries stopped for some reason."

"I think we should investigate in there." Dunban said.

"Yeah, you're right." Roy said. He drew his sword, and Dunban did the same. They went to the door and opened it and then walked inside. They looked inside the breeding room, however there was no trace of what used to be in there. At most all they found was some white fur.

They just made their way back into the observation room. "Nothing in there." Roy sighed. "Looks like whatever was in there got loose."

Shulk was just staring at a map on the wall. "Is something wrong Shulk?" Reyn asked. "You've been looking at the map for quite a while."

"It's just how big is this place?" Shulk asked.

Everyone looked at him a bit surprised. "What does Shulk mean?" Riki asked.

"I don't know." Shulk replied. "If this map is accurate, I feel like the ship should be going down to the endless sea..."

"Are you saying this place is as big as the Bionis?" Reyn said rather surprised.

"Well, maybe not as big as the Bionis, but Sword Valley is at about the Bionis' waist, and judging by how this part." He pointed at the top portion of the Bottleship. "was sticking out, and reached to about I'd say the Bionis' head... Not to mention, I think that the entrance we took was above these two rings, and since we didn't see them outside."

"How big is this place?" Ness asked.

Alex just shrugged. "No idea. Honestly, I thought it was rather small. But that's just what was represented in the game... I don't know what to tell you, to be honest."

"What if we go out, take that ship and find out?" Sharla suggested. "We can travel around sword valley and see how far down this ship descends."

"That would take too much time." Samus said.

"Agreed." Saki added on. "We need to get this thing off of Sword Valley sooner, rather than later."

"Yes." Dunban said. "The sooner we get done this, the sooner we can return and then save Fiora."

"Well, we could also take that ship that's parked, and use it to go over this ship and right to Galahad Fortress." Reyn said. "Then you guys can just focus on getting rid of it, and we can focus on our quest."

"That's a surprisingly good idea coming from you, Reyn." Riki said.

"Thanks, hey, wait a second. What do you mean by that fur ball!" Reyn retorted.

"I'm going to have to disagree with that plan." Alex said. "I think we should leave the Galactic Federation's ship here. If you take it out, and then we defuse this place from your world, there's no guarantee that it will return. And I'm sure they will need a ride home."

"You've been rather quiet about this, Shulk." Melia said.

Shulk just nodded. "Yes, besides, the size of this place something else feels off." Shulk replied. "I don't know how to explain it, but after we entered and descended that elevator, the Monado has felt lighter. "

"Now that you mention it, it also seems like the ether density is really thin." Melia said.

"Everything has felt rather normal to me." Ness said.

Samus just began to scan the area. There were a few moments where she just got a bit frantic. They couldn't tell over her visor, but there seemed to be a bunch of information that was rapidly going across it. "I think I have some news." She eventually said. "It would appear that the Bottle Ship is in two places at once, or only half fused to the Bionis and Mechonis."

"What?" Everyone said.

Samus just motioned to the map and pointed at the top portion. "It seems that this place is the only place that is fused in your world." She said. "The lower portion, or at least this part seems to still exists in it's original place."

"What?!" Everyone repeated shocked.

"So, it's not fully fused like we originally thought." Samus said. "The sudden weight change you felt with the Monado must of been the ship's gravity unit. It was a big enough difference between the gravity you were used to, to have an effect. And then the lack of ether may be because we're no longer in your world, and the only ether is the stuff that has leaked down, or that we brought with us."

"Then if that's the case, I think we better continue on wards." Alex said. "We can't allow any more to cross over."

They just nodded and exited out of the breeding room. And they made their way to a navigation booth, that was just outside of the breeding room and informed Adam of their discovery.

"I see, thank you for informing me of this. I think that does explain some of the working cameras then." He said.

On a screen they saw a starry sky, and a couple of asteroids. "I was thinking it was just recorded footage, but... It seems you've proven differently."

"What should we do now?" Alex asked.

"I've got everyone going towards the exam center." Adam replied. "Go there."

They just nodded, and made their way through some hallways, passing by a few washrooms, and then a storage closet. Alex just froze, and stared a the door.

"What's wrong?" Saki asked.

Alex just approached the door. It was partly open. No, to be more accurate, it was forced open. The keypad beside it had been blasted by a gun. He just opened the door and walked in. A bit confused everyone followed.

They were just greeted with a rather small room that contained numerous weapons. "Looks like a weapon's storehouse to me." Saki said.

"I imagine they had it in the event that something broke out." Alex said. "But why was the door broken. A monster wouldn't have done that. At least I think they wouldn't of done that..."

Saki just looked around at several of the weapons. He picked a few of them up and aimed them at the wall. However after several seconds he just put them down. "Ah well, I've still got my Cannon Sword, and I'm not ready to retire this old model. Besides, none of them feel right, they're nothing like my Dolphin."

Sharla was also looking at the rifles. She aimed a few, and just took them. "You'll need these." Saki said, holding several magazines and clips. "These rifles are different than yours, in that they won't have ether. It's just bullets from the look of it."

"Thanks." Sharla said.

They walked out of the room and to a giant marked door. Alongside it were numerous mentions of being a restricted area, and only authorized personnel were allowed.

Samus just walked over to a terminal, and a few seconds later her suit had hacked into it. The doors opened and they walked in. It was just a plain white room with another door, but as soon as the door behind them fully closed, the door in front began to open, and they were greeted with Sector 1's lush jungle environment.

"This humidity is just like Makna Forest." Sharla said.

"Everyone keep your guard up." Alex said. He had switched to the Gunner. Hayden did the same.

They could hear the buzzing of several bugs, and then the door began to close behind them. They just walked forwards, and out of the bushes several Sidehoppers jumped out. Shulk, Saki, Roy, and Dunban were able to cut through them.

They continued through the jungle environment, making their way through the various rooms. More and more enemies were attacking, but they just dealt with them as they came. Eventually they got to a big door. It began to open and there was suddenly a sudden snapping of a twig. Everyone turned around to see a white chicken thing, standing there, and staring at them. Alex wasted no time in raising up his gun and just shooting it, dead.

"What did you do that for?" Noah said shocked.

"We're trapped in a space station where so far everything has been trying to kill us. Anything that had to of survived this long must of posed some threat. And if that thing was smart, with all the shooting we've been doing, it would of stayed away from us, and not come out into the open." Alex explained.

"But you shouldn't of just killed it!" Noah said shocked.

"Well I did."

"It didn't show any hostility towards us." Noah protested.

"Not yet." Alex said. "Just trust me, I was doing everyone a favor."

"It could of been extinct!" Noah protested.

Alex just took Noah aside, and sternly looked him in the eyes. "When we get back, I'll let you play my copy of Metroid: Other M, you will be thanking me for what I just did." Alex said. "That thing is a gigantic pain in the ass, and is better off dead."

They got back to the group that just looked at them a bit confused. "Actually, since we're just standing around, Saki, Roy, Ness, or Lucas, can one of you cremate that body, and make sure nothing remains."

"Why?" Shulk asked.

"We don't want the Ing reanimating the corpse." Alex replied.

Roy just walked over to it and stabbed it with his sword. A few seconds later it burst into flames. A few minutes later, when the fire died down, they moved on wards. "And major problem 1 has been dealt with." Alex laughed. "Now, onto major problem 2."

The Smashers glanced at Alex a bit confused. "Don't worry about it. It was just a completely easy, preventable situation, that I just prevented." He said. "We're fine."

"If you say so." Ness said.

They continued through the passageways, eventually getting to what appeared to be a canyon. "Are we actually outside?!" Lucas said a bit surprised.

"No, it's a hologram." Alex replied. "The walls are covered with a picture to make the room appear bigger than it is."

Lucas walked over and eventually his hand touched the wall. "Wow, this is so cool!" He said.

They continued to the next door, and went inside. In the next room, there was another open space, however there was a building looking down at the clearing that they were in. "That must be the exam center." Hayden said. He had pulled up a map of the Bottle Ship on the holographic window.

Everyone just nodded and walked towards it. Alex however just froze, and looked around. "Something the mater?" Shulk asked.

"Yeah, just checking something..." Alex said. He just breathed a sigh of relief, and continued following the group. They went through the exam center and up the stairs, however they soon discovered a door that was broken open. Samus just jumped in with her arm cannon ready.

The others followed suit, having their weapons drawn. "Hey, Samus." A galactic federation soldier said. He just opened up his visor to reveal himself as James. "And Smashers."

A few seconds later, four other federation soldiers rushed through the doors.

"So, we're all together." Alex said just looking around.

"Yeah, Adam told us to come here." Anthony said.

Maurice just walked over to one of the several computers and began to type at it.

"Hey, the CPU seems to have self-destructed... The central system is broken into parts, but... I think I might be able to restore it and recover some of the data. Let's try it." Maurice said.

Hayden just facepalmed. "The future, where the CPU isn't actually important in being the central processing unit."

"The marvels of technology." Saki muttered.

"Thank you." Alex sighed in relief, rather glad that he wasn't the only one who caught that.

"Have you ever got that feeling that people don't know what they're talking about when writing a TV show or game?"

"Trust me, since we've entered this ship. All the time." Alex said. "They can't even be consistent within their own universe."

"What are you guys talking about?" Anthony asked.

"Nothing, never mind." Alex said.

"Well, there might be some pretty crucial information hidden here. While Maurice is working his magic, the rest of us should search this building, am I right?"

"Right!" James, Lyle, and K.G. said. They disappeared into another hallway.

Anthony on the other hand just went over to a window and looked out of it. "Hey, Princess." He called over to Samus.

Samus just walked over. "Anthony, can you not call me that."

Anthony chuckled. "Don't want me embarrassing you in front of your new comrades?"

Samus just glared at Anthony. "Cut the crap." She said.

"Fine, fine, this looks like one of the training grounds of the Galactic Federation, doesn't it?" Anthony said.

Samus just nodded. "Quite odd, don't you think?" She said.

"What do you mean?" Anthony questioned.

"Well, everything else looks like it's had all traces or proof of the Galactic Federation being involved here, washed away." Samus replied. "Yet, why have this specific area look exactly like a training area?"

Anthony just looked at Samus rather confused. "You've found something?" He asked.

Samus just nodded. "Yeah, we were able to get into the network here earlier." Samus whispered. "And we've been slowly been going through the data. We've uncovered something big within the Galactic Federation."

Anthony just nodded. "Follow me." He said.

The two just went down the hallway, leaving the Smashers in the room, looking over Maurice and sorting through their own data.

Anthony passed some branching hallways, and just went into another room, and Samus followed. Anthony just looked around the room, and then closed the door. He was being extremely cautious and making sure no one was eavesdropping. "That's the real reason we're here." Anthony whispered. "We were sent here to investigate something."

"Why did you take me aside?" Samus asked.

"Well in one of the Navigation booths, Adam informed me that someone in our squad may have been sent to silence us and stop our investigation." Anthony said.

Samus just nodded.

"Well, then. I guess that means you'd want us to be on our guard too." Samus said.

Anthony just nodded. "Right. If we're all together and on guard, then he'll have a much harder time to act."

"Well, I guess we should investigate this place while we're waiting." Samus said. She walked over to the only other door in the room, and opened it. From the now open room, a creature fell down onto the floor. She just jumped back in shock and raised her arm cannon to point at it, however when it wasn't moving, and she confirmed it to be dead, she slowly approached it.

"A space pirate!?" Samus said rather shocked. She flipped it over, and found it's body covered with various cybernetic parts. But perhaps what was the most damning, and shocking part of it was on the chest plate was the insignia of the Galactic Federation.

"What the?" Anthony said.

They suddenly heard Maurice shout. "Everyone, gather round!"

The two walked out of the room, and were followed a few minutes later by Lyle, James, and K.G. They just all gathered around the computer and looked at the many monitors.

"All right, so I've managed to recover one piece of data." Maurice said.

"Bullshit." Hayden coughed underneath his breath.

"What, you don't think he installed a new CPU while we were watching over him?" Alex whispered.

"By doing nothing but typing at the computer?" Hayden replied.

They however stopped talking for a few seconds as Maurice began to read some of what was on the screen. "This Bottle Ship is under management of the Galactic Federation. In these facilities, life-forms from each planet have been raised and researched as possible bioweapons. Site Manager and Development Director: Dr. Madeline Bergman."

However there was one fragment that caught Alex's attention

_Finally, if the Bottle Ship is ever compromised, emergency transmissions to other planetary settlements, space vessels, or space stations are strictly forbidden. This facility is designated as a fully independent research laboratory by special decree of the Galactic Federation in conjunction with Zenith._

_Dr. Madeline Bergman, Development Director_

"Zenith!?" Alex said.

Everyone just looked over at Alex. "What?" The Smashers said.

"Zenith was behind the Bottle Ship with the Galactic Federation..." Alex said. "It said so right here."

"Of course they would." Saki said rather annoyed. "This has Zenith written all over it. Weapons, research into bioweapons."

"Can I ask who Zenith is?" Adam asked.

The Smashers just looked around rather nervously. "The quick version, a group that develops bioweapons, bioengeneering and making soldiers. We really don't know that much about them. But they're dangerous, and extremely secretive."

"Do you think that then this fusing with Bionis and Mechonis was because of Zenith?" Ness asked. "After all, we know that they want the worlds fused together for some reason, and this might of been a test run."

"I really hope not." Isaac said.

Maurice was still at the computer. "I've almost gotten it completely restored. But I'll bet they've protected this thing with a seriously sophisticated security system. If I can't get past it, James, that will be where you come in."

Alex didn't exactly have the heart to tell him that they had all ready cracked it, and had all the information downloaded. But the reminder of James being there made Alex jolt awake.

"Leave it to me. Shouldn't be a problem to hack into this thing. I mean, it might tell us what exactly was going on here. Looks like this might take some time, though." James said.

"Madeline might still be somewhere in this building. Keep scouting for more intel. Let's go!" Anthony said. K.G., Lyle, and Anthony began to walk away to investigate the facility further.

"There's something I want to investigate too." Samus said.

"That space pirate we found earlier?" Anthony wondered.

Samus just nodded and began to walk away. Alex was just watching James and Maurice. Hayden pulled out the holographic screen, and continued looking through the files that they had found. A few of the other Smashers did the same.

"I think I found something!" Lucas said. The Smashers just huddled around Lucas.

"What did you find?"

"Well, since we knew that Zenith was now involved, I began to search the documents for specific mentions of Zenith. And, well I found something... It looks like a log."

_Madeline Bergman, director's log._

_Research has continued. Zenith has sent someone to observe our progress, and I can't help but feel that she doesn't like our progress, that it's too slow. She keeps on telling us that she isn't impressed._

Lucas just skipped a bit and continued to read. "This next one happened a little bit later." He said.

_When the Zenith representative, Achi, came aboard the Bottleship, she had a metal case. I thought it was just her clothes, but that turned out that wasn't the case. She brought it to us and had given an ultimatum. She explained that despite our progress, she felt that it wasn't good enough. Even though Melissa can control all the creatures in the Bottle Ship, she didn't feel that they were complete. Inside that case was a gigantic shard of Phazon, and her instructions were that we were to focus on studying this._

_Due to the research notes that Samus Aran had handed over to the Galactic Federation, stolen from the Space Pirates, and used during the battle against Phaaze, along with the Galatic Federation's own research notes with the PED Suits, we knew about the Phazon and its capabilities. However, we also knew of it's chaotic, and uncontrollable nature. With Melissa being able to control them now, we're uncertain about about adding in the Phazon. Achi however made her demands clear, and wished for some new progress to be made during her visit next month._

_We immediately began our research._

"Achi..." Saki pounded his fist against the wall. Maurice and James just looked over at them rather suspicious.

"Hey, Luke, is anything else there?" Ness wondered.

Lucas nodded a bit. "It seems like mostly their research on Phazon, there were a few breakthroughs, and they began applying it to the creatures. And then this Achi person came back the next month."

_Despite our breakthroughs, Achi still wasn't impressed, but said we were making progress in a rather condescending way. She said that they had come into possession with something that might be beneficial to our studies. A pitch black seed about the size of a tennis ball. She called it the Chaos Seed._

"What's this about a Chaos seed?" Isaac asked.

Lucas just continued reading. "I don't know." He said. He quickly began to search some more things. "Ah here, more information on the Chaos Seed."

_Despite whatever tests we run the Chaos Seed seems to be remaining dormant. It won't germinate like any other seed or anything else. It just floats there, as though it's in suspended animation. Our scans indicate that it does have a bit of energy inside of it. But since our obtaining of the seed, it seems to actually be dying. Before where it was pitch black, but now it seems to be getting brighter and brighter._

Everyone was just looking at Lucas. "What else?" Roy asked.

"The next entry it seems like the Chaos Seed was stolen." Lucas said.

"What?!" Everyone said.

Lucas just nodded and began to read.

_We have launched a gigantic search through all personal quarters to look for the Chaos Seed. Tensions are running high, and since we noticed that it was missing no one has been allowed to enter or leave the Bottle Ship. And yet, I'm nervous. Despite our preliminary searches, not a single trace has shown up. We're looking into the ventilation, or any possible hiding spots. But so far all personnel was accounted for. It's almost like it just completely vanished._

Lucas just looked up at everyone. "This seemed like it happened at least two months ago." He said.

"Two months ago?" Dunban said.

"Does that ring any bells?" Ness said.

"No, not really. Just a strange coincidence I guess. That would place it just before Colony 9 was attacked by the Mechon." Dunban said.

"What are the rest of the log entries?" Shulk asked.

Lucas just read through them. "It mostly states that they looked for the Chaos Seed, and they didn't find anything in their search. And then one day, a Galactic Federation ship came, to take this Melissa person away. Melissa however used her control over the monsters to-" Lucas suddenly realized what he was reading and just froze. He paused, caught his breath and continued. "To kill everyone. The log entries seemed to of stopped."

"So now the question is, is this Madeline person still alive, and where is this Melissa." Roy said.

Saki just glanced up at Alex who was leaning against the window, just watching James and Maurice work. "Hey, Alex, you've been awfully quite about this."

Alex just nodded. "Yeah, sorry." He replied. "I've been listening, just trying to figure out a few other things."

"Where's your monitor?" Saki asked.

Alex just pointed at Mr. AR who was on his shoulder. "Mr. AR here told me that they could be placed like contact lenses." Alex explained. "So, I've been using it like that to keep it hidden. Listen, Saki, I might need you to transform to protect us."

Saki just looked a bit confused. "Transform, here? All the corridors have been rather small... I'd break everything, and damage the ship."

"You'd still be able to shield everyone." Alex said.

Saki just looked rather confused.

"Don't worry, I'm hoping it won't come down to that." Alex said just patting Saki on the shoulder.

Samus, and the few Galactic Federation soldiers came out of the hallway and the area that they went to investigate. "You've still got it Samus!" Anthony laughed. "I'm amazed. Those Space Pirates were nothing against you."

Alex just froze. He knew that the traitor in the group that had been dubbed, rather stupidly as "The Deleter" would strike soon. He imagined that the trigger for him killing everyone was them finding out about the bioweapons. He knew that the Deleter was James, but for the first time he was conflicted. He didn't know if he should interfere with these events. This wasn't just a simple looking animal that he could brush off as nothing and just being paranoid about how everything else has tried to kill them so far. This was an actual human being. Everyone would be against him if he didn't proceed with caution. On the other hand his targets just increased dramatically.

Still, since he had killed the little white thing, Lyle was still alive. The monsters in the Bottle Ship wouldn't be agitated by Ridley's cry and get more hostile.

He glanced at the computer that had a bomb hidden underneath it. Set to go off in about half an hour, with the intention of destroying this place. He currently had a countdown clock appearing on a contact lens, so that only he could really see it.

"I guess it's time for our next objective, right." Anthony said.

"Correct. I've been monitoring some other areas, and I believe I've found a survivor in the Cryosphere." Adam said. "I'll send you all over to there."

"Before we do that though." Alex said. "Lucas, you got a bunch of information."

"Yeah!" Lucas suddenly said rather excited.

"I think Samus, and the Galactic Federation troopers, need to be filled in."

"Well, since I all ready heard you guys talking about it." James said, "I think Maurice and I should go out and try and find the survivor."

"Okay." Alex said.

The two walked towards the door out of the exam center. However, they couldn't open it. "Hey, Adam, did you lock the doors?"

"No I didn't." Adam replied. "Let me try and open them from here." After several seconds however he replied. "This isn't good."

"What isn't good?"

"It looks like someone else has locked you in there, and changed the passwords." Adam replied. "It might be one of the survivors, keeping you trapped in there. I can try a few things." But after a few minutes it was quite clear that Adam couldn't open the door. "I have no idea what's going on."

"Well, let's try and find another exit." James suggested. He walked over to the other door, that led to the area that Samus had been investigating, however that door was sealed too. "Samus, can you blow down the door?"

"That might be the best option if we're trapped." Samus said. She aimed her arm cannon at the door and fired a few missiles at it, however it did nothing.

Alex was keeping a close eye on the time remaining. After Ness and Lucas had finished explaining what they found out to the others, there was only about 10 minutes left until the bomb would explode.

James was just pacing nervously around the room. "James, what's wrong?" Anthony asked.

"Is anyone else getting a little bit claustrophobic?" He asked.

Alex did have to admit with the 21 of them in this room, it was a bit crowded. "Now that you mention it." Lyle said.

A few others agreed and just looked around, and found themselves agreeing. James just looked at the windows. "Hey, we can still get out by breaking these windows." He took a chair and threw it at the window, however, the chair just bounced off of the window not even leaving a mark.

Panic and despair suddenly began to set in. "Are you really that claustrophobic?" Alex asked. "Samus, maybe your scanner can open the doors."

"I've been trying." Samus replied. "But it's been encrypted by something fierce. My scanner has yet to crack the code."

"Then perhaps you can find another way out by changing your visors." Roy suggested. "Find the weak point in the walls that we could all attack."

Samus just nodded and began to scan the room, however she suddenly froze. "We have a problem." She said.

"And that is?" Alex asked.

"There's a bomb. A bomb that's set to go off in 8 minutes." She said, removing it from underneath the desk and putting on top a table. Everyone just began to look around panicked. "Everyone stay calm." Samus said, quickly taking charge of the situation. "One of us must of set it, meaning one of us knows how to deactivate it."

"Well, if it's a Galactic Federation bomb, doesn't that make it quite clear that it's one of you five?" Saki asked.

"No." Samus replied. "It could be anyone. In this facility we've seen storage rooms with weapons. I'd imagine for if any creatures went berserk, they'd have a chance to actually subdue them. The culprit could have easily taken the bomb from there and planted it."

There was just silence. "It would still have to be one of you five though." Roy said "Unfortunately, what would any of us Smashers have to gain from killing ourselves. And if the people from Bionis did it, they would be killing their only chance at getting rid of the Bottle Ship. Not to mention they still have their war to fight."

"What if the person responsible though didn't expect us to be trapped in here?" Isaac pointed out.

"But then what's our motive?" Roy questioned. "What would we have to gain from destroying this. We've all ready got all the information on the servers in this facility downloaded on to the stuff back at the mansion."

Saki however just faced Alex. "You knew." He said.

"That is correct." Alex replied. "So did Zoroark."

"How did you know?" Saki said.

"You all ready know the answer to that one." Alex replied. "If they played it, Noah and Hayden would also have known, but they didn't." Alex paused. "Of course, maybe they did play it, and just didn't realize it since it was one of the many things that the game wasn't clear on."

Saki just turned to face the five Galactic Federation members. "So, it really couldn't have been anyone but one of them."

"Wait, how could it only be one of them?" Shulk asked. "How are we all suddenly clear of suspicion?"

"It's a long story." Alex said. "And I'll tell it to you later. But for right now, I think it's time to get the Deleter out of hiding."

There was suddenly silence. Soon everyone burst out into laughter. "What the hell is 'The Deleter?'" Saki asked.

"Holy crap, that sounds completely non threatening." Hayden laughed. "What's he going to do? Delete my facebook account? Delete all the cookies on my computer so that I have to reinsert all my passwords to websites I visit? Delete all my save game files?"

Alex just looked rather embarrassed. "Right, I forgot how amazingly stupid and awkward that sounded when said out loud."

"Who named it that anyways?" Samus laughed.

Alex opened his mouth, but quickly closed it. "That's not important." Alex eventually said. "What's important is that we get rid of the traitor."

"Yeah, we have to get out of here. Before this bomb blows." Maurice said.

"If he knew that it was there, you should also know who set it." Ness said.

Alex just closed his eyes and thought about it for a few seconds. "I know who set it." He replied. "However, I'm afraid that I won't be able to exactly say who did."

"And why not?" Anthony asked.

"If I say it, would you really believe me?" Alex wondered. "The way I see it, the way we all get out of this alive is if the person comes out and confesses, and disables the bomb."

"But why would he do that?" Roy asked. "Wouldn't he still get what he wants, the majority is dead. All that remains would be Adam."

"Who will go to the Galactic Federation, with proof that there's something here, and they will most likely be able to find something else. And they will know in advanced this time that there is a rogue faction which might be trying to kill them." Alex said. "This was your only chance, and you failed."

"So, now the only questions are who is this person that planted the bomb and was sent to kill everyone?" Samus said. "And when was the bomb planted? I mean, there is still the possibility that it was this Madeline Bergman, and she locked us all in here since she could get rid of most of us. Maybe Adam's door is also sealed shut, and he will die of starvation."

A small smile crossed Alex's face. "_That is such a nice thought..._" He thought to himself. "No, it's not her."

Everyone was just beginning to look worried as the countdown continued. It passed 5 minutes and everyone was getting more and more nervous. "Is there some way we can disable the bomb?" Shulk suggested.

Everyone looked at the Homs.

Samus just nodded and looked at the bomb. "Unfortunately, it seems like I can't." Samus replied. "Looks like we have to find the person who set it."

"What?!" Melia said.

"No way!" Reyn said.

"Shulk, you can cut through the door with the Monado." Dunban suggested.

Shulk drew the sword and activated it. He swung the Monado several times, cutting the door, however as he pulled the Monado away, no visible damage was done.

"What's going on?" Reyn said confused.

"Perhaps the rules of this world differ from yours." Roy said. "An all powerful sword is just a normal beam sword here. Ness, Lucas, I guess this is our last resort. Can you two read their minds and find out who's the guilty party?"

"That won't work." Samus said. "Standard issue Galactic Federation suits have their helmets designed to repel telepaths."

Three minutes remained and it was getting quite clear everyone was beginning to panic.

"Who was first person here?" Riki asked.

"James." Samus said. She suddenly froze and just raised her arm cannon at him. "When I entered you were looking at something underneath the counter. Did you place the bomb?"

James looked almost offended. "What? Why would you say that?"

"Because since then there has always been at least one other person in the room." Samus said. "That was the only time the person would have been able to set the bomb without anyone noticing."

"There could have been someone else in here before me." James said. "They destroyed the door, set the bomb, walked around a bit outside to scout the perimeter, and then come back. Wasn't Lyle the one who was supposed to get here and scout out this place first."

"Well, were you here Lyle?" Anthony asked.

"Well, sort of, but I had to get out to find another way to contact Adam because the door was sealed shut. And then I ran into you three."

"And the door was broken when I came." Samus said, looking at James. "Did you break the door open, or was there someone else who got here between you and Lyle."

"The door was broken when I got here." James replied.

Alex just glanced at the bomb. A minute remained on the countdown. "We're not going to get anywhere before it blows up." He sighed. "Well, it was nice knowing everyone. Z, disable the bomb."

Zoroark just nodded and the bomb just suddenly dissolved into light. Underneath that illusion was another bomb, however this one had the insides torn out, and was destroyed.

"An illusion?!" Dunban said rather shocked.

Alex just nodded. "Knowing about the bomb in advanced. Zoroark and I were able to disable it." He said. "In order to flush out the traitor, we just made it look like it was still operating. Super easy with Zoroark's illusions. Now then who is it?"

"You're asking us?" Saki asked.

"I am, because there is a major contradiction in the testimony." Alex replied.

"What is this, suddenly a courtroom?" James laughed.

"If that needs to be the way to find the traitor, then so be it." Alex replied. "To the traitor, I will be your judge, jury, and executioner. I guess you could say that your execution has all ready begun. Soon the guillotine will fall."

"Now you said there was a contradiction?" Ness said.

Alex just nodded. "That's all I'm saying."

"Well then, I'll just read your mind..." Ness laughed. He just focused, however Alex just crossed his arms and glared at Ness. "Why can't I read your mind?!" Ness said shocked.

"Wait what?!" Alex said a bit shocked. "I mean, I was trying to think of song lyrics to distract you but... you can't read my mind?"

"Yeah, it's kind of weird." Ness replied. "Only psychics such as Mewtwo, and Lucas, or people who wear special suits or head gear like Samus, Fox, or Captain Falcon are able to block out people trying to see into their mind."

Alex just nodded. "Maybe it was a side effect of that training that Nugai had me do." He speculated.

"I really don't think that's important right now guys." Saki said, just looking at the group from the Galactic Federation. "We need to figure out who the traitor is, otherwise they will try to kill us again."

"Why don't we try to have Shulk have a vision and see who put it there." Reyn suggested.

Shulk just walked over to the remains of the bomb and touched it, he just stood there. "Sorry to say this, but nothing is appearing." He replied. "Once again, maybe because it's from a different world, it doesn't have any ether for me to read."

"Urgh, I was hoping that would have worked!" Reyn shouted rather frustrated.

"I think we all were." Dunban said.

Samus just raised her arm cannon once again at James. "James, if you weren't the one who set the bomb, then why were you looking at something underneath the desk? Or what were you looking at underneath that desk?"

"I was trying to plug in the computers into the outlet." James replied. "It was unplugged, I bent down to plug it in, and then you entered."

"Can you prove that?" Hayden wondered.

"Can you prove that I didn't?" James countered.

"Well, I guess we would just need to double check the outlets or plugs for fingerprints." Noah said.

"There's one problem with that though." Alex said. "The Galactic Federation's suit's all have gloves. If James or any of the others did it, they wouldn't have left any fingerprints."

"So it's like there's no evidence." Ness said. "And we can't read his mind... It's just like everything disappeared."

Lucas suddenly gasped in shock. He just looked up at James. "Speaking of disappearing, what happened with your claustrophobia?" Lucas questioned.

Everyone just suddenly turned to face James.

"If he was the person who set the bomb, it wasn't claustrophobia. He knew it was counting down and getting closer and closer... He was trapped." Shulk said.

"He just used it as a front..." Dunban said.

"Distracting us and making us think that he was nervous for some other reason." Sharla said.

"But can we accuse him beyond a shadow of a doubt?" Roy asked. "I mean... Are we sure it's him? This is just speculation unless we have any proof."

"But what proof is there?" Saki said. "The only ones who actually seem to know are Alex, Zoroark and the person responsible. And none of them are exactly talking right now..."

"I'll say who it is if you all agree who you're accusing." Alex said.

"And what if we get it wrong?" Roy asked.

Alex just shrugged. "I'll reveal who it is anyways. To be honest, we can't exactly have someone who is out to kill all of us running around freely, especially when we know about it, that would just be stupid, don't you think?"

"Yeah, you'd have to be a complete and total moron to knowingly let a killer run around the ship even though you know about it." Hayden replied.

Alex was just glaring at Hayden. "Okay, did you, or didn't you play Other M? I'm getting really mixed signals over here." Alex said.

Hayden just laughed. "Honestly I haven't played it."

"Watched it online?" Alex asked.

"No." Hayden said.

"Okay fine." Alex sighed. "So, are you all going to say who you think did it?"

"There really is only one possibility, isn't there." Lyle said. "The only one who wasn't accounted for was James. KG, Maurice, Anthony, and myself were all together. I don't want to believe it, but..."

"Yeah, it has to be you James!" Ness said.

Alex just held out a gun and pointed it at James. "Is that everyone's final answer."

"Don't I get a word in this?" James wondered.

"I guess that's fair, I mean we are accusing you after all." Anthony said. "If you have something to say that suddenly will change everything around."

"Well, if I had to guess, I'd say it would be Lyle." James said. "After all, he is the demolitions expert, and had the bombs."

"All my bombs are accounted for." Lyle said. "Besides we used them all up trying to open the door, and I didn't go back to the ship to get more. Adam immediately ordered me to explore this area. I only went to find you guys when I came to this test center and the doors were locked."

Alex just laughed.

"What's so funny?" Samus asked.

"Oh, it's just that front door just gets more hilarious with every passing moment." Alex replied. He looked up at them, and continued to laugh.

"I don't see what's so funny." Anthony said.

"It's not important right now." Alex replied.

"Still, just because Lyle didn't have the bombs from the ship, didn't mean that he didn't pick up a bomb from the storage rooms here." James said.

"But why would there be a bomb in the storage rooms?" Roy asked.

"Why would there be missile expansions?" Samus questioned. "And yet there were those, so I'm sure there would be bombs. In fact, why don't we check, don't we have this ships stock room's stock on file."

Alex just was going through some holographic windows. "All ready way ahead of you." He said. "Yep, seems like they had some bombs in stock."

"This is completely irreverent, but why would they have bombs in stock? here?" Saki asked.

"This is only speculation on my part, but if things quickly got worse, and they had to destroy everything, so their research wasn't compromised when people came looking..." Samus suggested.

"But then, what about right now?" Roy questioned.

"Well, maybe something unexpected happened." Samus replied.

"Melissa being taken away if the log entries are anything to go by..." Ness said.

"So, the traitor did get the bomb from the storage rooms here." Anthony said. "I guess that brings it back to James. Everyone else has been together."

"What?!" James said shocked. "I've still got more things to say."

"I don't think so. I think your silence has been deafening. And trying to move the subject away from yourself." Alex replied. "And I'm getting rather bored. Yes, the traitor is in fact James! Sent here to kill anyone who finds out about the Bottle Ship's little secret of bioweapons. It's over, surrender."

Though, perhaps in his haste, Alex forgot something extremely important. A cornered animal, with nothing to lose, is much more dangerous. James just grabbed his ice gun and held it in front of him, aiming it at all of them. "All right, I admit it." He said. "I set the bomb, I was sent here by the Galactic Federation to make sure everything stayed under wraps." He began to laugh. "But I guess that all is over now. No matter what, I lose. At least, that's what I was thinking originally."

He suddenly pulled out a syringe that had been hidden in apart of his suit.

If Alex had to guess, he assumed it was originally a standard issue item for the Galatic Federation, and was originally used to apply a medicine. "They thankfully gave me a small item, saying to only use it as an absolute last resort. I think we're there..." He stabbed the syringe into his neck, where the armor wasn't as thick.

Whatever liquid was in the syringe it drained out of it, and went into James' body. When it was empty he just discarded it.

"What was that?" Anthony asked, aiming his rifle at him.

James just laughed. "A small secret weapon they gave me just in case." James replied. "Courtesy of what has been studied here."

"Shoot and kill him!" Saki suddenly shouted.

The members of the 07th Platoon just grabbed their guns and aimed at James, they began to fire, however he quickly ducked down behind a desk, that seemed to actually be strong enough to deflect the bullets from their guns.

"So, this is what they were talking about. This feels great." James laughed. "I can suddenly feel so much power just coursing through me... This is amazing. I can now sense where you all are in this room."

Saki just rushed for the desk and jumped over, he was greeted by a shot from the freeze gun, and was encased in ice, however, the ice quickly shattered. He landed on the ground and James quickly tackled Saki, sending them both through the glass window, and plummeting towards the ground outside.

"We have to follow them!" Alex shouted. "Z, cut out the illusion on the door!"

Zoroark just nodded. Suddenly the door had a hole in it, from where Shulk had cut it with the Monado. Everyone just rushed through it to go outside.

However Isaac blocked Alex's way out of the room. He was just glaring at Alex.

"Alex, did you lock us in here?" Isaac asked.

"Yeah." Alex replied. "We weren't really trapped. When James threw the chair, I had some aura covering the window to protect it. And I could have unlocked the doors at any time. I planned on opening the doors if he surrendered."

Isaac just grabbed Alex by the shirt collar and looked him in the eyes. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"What?" Alex said a bit shocked.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Isaac repeated. "Playing with everyone's lives like that."

"Look, I'm sorry." Alex said. "Only I knew about the traitor, and I had to do that to flush him out. No one else had to know. If anyone else knew that the bomb was a dud, they could have let it slip."

Isaac just glared. "I don't think that cuts it." He replied. "You of all people should know what it's like when someone keeps you out of the loop."

Alex just nodded. "In the future then, I'll let you know. But right now, I think we have bigger fish to fry."

"Okay, what was in that syringe?" Isaac asked.

"I have absolutely no idea." Alex replied. "Nothing like that was in the game."

"Just great." Isaac muttered.

They had reached outside, James was now hiding behind an overturned jeep. The members of the 07th Platoon just raised their weapons up at the jeep and began to approach it.

"Don't." Saki said. He was leaning against the wall, having crawled out from a crater. "Don't think of him like a human anymore. Think of him as one of the monsters here in this place."

"Why?" Anthony asked.

"Whatever was in that syringe, it's transforming him into a monster." Saki replied.

"And how would you know that?" Maurice asked.

"I'm not human." Saki replied. "As soon as he used that syringe, and it began changing him, everything in my body began to react, saying that he was dangerous."

"I think we found something too." Ness said. He held out the holographic monitor for the 07th platoon to see. "It's detailing something that can be injected and will cause rapid changes to the body. All tests subjects gained increase strength and changed. This experiment was carried out on some prisoners on a desert planet. At most they lived a day after the injection. I think it might be best for you to start believing that James is dead, and we have to kill the monster that is now in front of us."

"The Galactic Federation was doing this?" Anthony said rather shocked. "This is all unethical and illegal."

"Somehow, I think they knew that, and I don't think they cared." Samus replied.

Anthony just readied his huge plasma gun. "Well, I've got a charge on it." He said. "However if I miss it will take about 3 minutes for another charge to build up. I guess this means we have to kill James then."

"Agreed." Adam said through all of their communications. "I've sealed all the doors. He can't escape. Don't let any feelings stop you from eliminating him. That person in your memories is all ready dead. Going over this information, there is no chance to save him."

They all got ready, they 07th platoon cocked their guns. The Smashers got ready, and finally the group from the Bionis also got their weapons ready.

"Everyone, stand back." Samus said. She raised her arm cannon and fired a super missile at the jeep. Upon hitting the jeep, both exploded. When the smoke cleared, James just stood there, not exactly deterred from having his cover destroyed. He just let out a laugh and looked around at everyone.

Immediately the 07th Platoon just opened fire at him. He shook violently as the bullets hit him. Maurice also fired with a freeze gun, causing him to be encased in ice. The bullets caused bits and pieces to shatter off, and he fell forwards, breaking off his arms.

"Well that was pathetically easy." K.G. said.

"Man, that really hurt." James' voice said. Everyone just turned to what they thought was the corpse. The shattered pieces just began to get back together. The ice had melted a bit. He just got up and looked around at the large group. "That really worked wonders..." He looked around at everyone and just laughed. "You all look so weak and pathetic right now."

Anthony just fired his plasma gun at James. It hit him in the chest and sent him flying back, destroying what armor was there, and leaving a rather nasty looking burn.

"Amazing." James laughed. "What power! I've never felt anything like this. I could crush all of you right now!"

He ran forwards with an incredible amount of speed, right towards Anthony.

"Monado Shield us!" Shulk said. Suddenly a barrier appeared around all of them. James was unable to stop his attack, and hit the barrier that was surrounding Anthony. Anthony was quick to grab James' hand and arm, and force him down to the ground. He quickly pulled out a freeze gun and shot at point blank, freezing him.

"Samus, shoot him with a Super Missile!" Anthony said, as he jumped away from the frozen James.

Samus aimed her arm cannon and fired, the Super Missile flew and hit him, causing the ice to explode. However much to their shock, even all of that began to reform. Soon standing there once again was James. He had a vaguely humanoid shape. The galactic federation armor was long gone, leaving the reformed mass naked, although he reformed without any private parts, leaving him just looking like a doll. His skin had taken a rather disgusting looking gray color, as for his face, his hair was long gone, and his face just looked generic.

It took James a few seconds to get over his appearance. "And not even that could kill me." He laughed. "Amazing. This is only the beginning of what can be researched here! I've never felt better..."

The other members of the 07th platoon began to fire their freeze guns at James. Upon contact however, the ice melted after several seconds. James just laughed. "Amazing, if I have a weakness, I evolve to eliminate it. Imagine all the other bioweapons that could be created here."

The 07th platoon began shooting at James, the bullets seemed to hit, and go into him, but they didn't go through him. The bullet holes also instantly closed.

"I have evolved beyond a normal human." He laughed. "None of you have a chance to kill me. I think it would be the best if you just all surrendered."

"Sorry, but the word surrender isn't exactly in my dictionary." Saki said.

"Yeah, that word isn't in a Smasher's dictionary!" Ness said.

"And just what can you do? You're only a kid?" James laughed.

Ness responded to this with a blast of psychic energy. "PK Flash!" He sent the ball of green light over to James, and it exploded around him.

James just stood there and wiped away some tears that formed. "Congratulations, you succeeded at making me cry. Clearly, I should be terrified of you."

Ness just grabbed his baseball bat and was about to run forwards, however Lucas grabbed his shoulder, and stopped him. "He's just trying to make you frustrated, by taunting you."

Ness just nodded. "You're right."

Sharla shot at James, and hit him with a bullet right on his head. It exploded into a burst of electricity. Melia followed up with sending a wave of ether to paralyze James in place. He just looked at them before firing some energy bullets towards them. Reyn however jumped in the way, and blocked the attack with his gunlance.

Shulk and Dunban were running towards him and they slashed through him with their swords. They quickly jumped back as James began to reformed, and the wounds healed.

"What if we do what we did with the Telethia?" Dunban asked. "Overload him with ether?"

"We really don't have that much ether here." Melia replied.

"You're saying that after you used that wave of ether." Reyn pointed out.

"It took a while to gather, and that was about all I could do." Melia replied.

James just looked rather frustrated. With all the attacks from everyone there was never a second allowed for him to actually strike back. James just began to gather in energy and then suddenly let out a wave of power, knocking everyone back.

"I had the perfect plan." James muttered. "It was just getting into this stupid ship, disabling everyone's communications, and then hunting you all down, one by one, to kill you all. And then, all this stupid shit started happening."

He rushed over to Lyle, and smashed him into the ground. He followed up with an attack to K.G. sending him flying right into the wall of the room that they were in. The impact was enough to cause the hologram that covered the wall to flicker. He went and punched Anthony in the abdomen, winding him and causing him to fall to the ground. He ran to Maurice and threw him towards the wall.

"Then those robots appeared. Leaving us trapped and stranded... And then all of you appeared." James rushed towards Alex. "And just what the hell is your deal!? Who the hell do you think you are? How did you just appear out of nowhere and know everything about me!?"

He threw several punches, that Alex could only block.

Saki just rushed forwards and swung his arm. It had been replaced with a monstrous claw and he slashed at James, knocking him away from Alex.

"Let me deal with him!" Saki said.

Alex was just gasping for air. "Yeah, okay."

James just began to walk forwards, looking at Saki. "I see, so you're just like me now. But I wonder which one of us is stronger..."

"Don't you dare compare yourself to me." Saki said.

"You're right, you're weaker. I can see that you're still attached to your humanity." James said. "That's rather worthless."

"This Bottle Ship, being made in conjunction with Zenith... If you're with them, you're my enemy." Saki said. He rushed towards James, and swung his massive claws. However James just caught Saki's hand. Saki quickly kicked James back.

James just smiled. "Oh, you have so little control over that... How long will it be until you fully transform, and lose yourself..."

Saki just looked completely terrified. "How do you..."

"You're an open book, Saki." James laughed. He rushed for Saki and just punched him, winding Saki. "You have this power. Embrace it."

Saki just used his claws to stab James, and pin him against the wall.

"That's it, let your fear become anger. Let it all out, lose control, and lose yourself." James laughed.

Isaac just drew his sword, the metallic ring shot through the air, and seemed to bring Saki back to his senses.

"Oh, they have you trained like a dog." James laughed. "How disappointing, when I heard that Zenith let one of their experiments escape, I was expecting something more."

"Just who are you?" Saki said.

"James Pierce, Communications. Member of the 07th Platoon. At least that's my cover. But since it's been blown, might as well just get everything out. I'm James Pierce, an agent of Zenith. I was found, and saved by them, and then sent to the Galactic Federation to be trained in combat, and relay information back to Zenith. I'm sure as you all know, Zenith has many agents in the Galactic Federation."

Anthony fired another blast from his Plasma Gun, however the attack did nothing against James. "So, this whole time, you've been waiting to kill us? Was everything a lie?"

"No." James replied. "I thought of you all as friends. Unfortunately, it seems you just had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. So, you must all be eliminated for the greater good."

"So, you're actually from Zenith." Saki said.

"Yeah, we're practically brothers, aren't we?" James said. "Are you going to introduce me to your kid? I'm sure he'd love to meet Uncle James." Saki just went white. "That's right, we know you've gone out and had a child. We're always watching, him and your wife..."

James kicked Saki away. Saki crashed into the test center, and walked out. However he was staggering. He began to hyperventilate.

Isaac just grabbed Saki by the shoulder. "Calm down. Don't let what he's saying get to you. We know Master Hand has wireframes watching over our families."

"Those pieces of junk?" James taunted. "I've heard they're almost as fragile as a newborn baby. Is your family really safe Saki?"

Alex just pulled the earpiece out of his ear and handed it over to Saki. He looked at Alex rather confused. "What's this for?"

"Talk to Master Hand." Alex replied. "Voice your concerns."

Saki took the headset and just nodded. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Alex said. He just turned his attention to James.

The heat that his body was letting off, was far to much for anyone but Samus to get close. She had activated her Varia Suit. She just fired missiles at him, upon contact they exploded. But James seemed rather distracted. He just looked around, barely registering missiles and super missiles being fired at him.

"You are all insects before me..." James laughed. "How... weak and feeble you all are... I can see everything about you, how you will all amount to nothi-"

He just froze and looked around the room that they were in. "What is this? What do I sense? Something calling me..."

"Hey, mind paying attention to us?!" Isaac said a bit annoyed.

"Insects such as yourself should just be ignored." James replied.

Isaac just glared at him. "I summon the embodiment of..."

"Woah, hold it!" Saki suddenly said cutting off Isaac. "Slow down. You know you can't do that. Especially with all of us here. If it was just me, I'd probably survive... but everyone else you know. And in this contained space, you really can't move around as freely, and lets not forget that you don't want to destroy everything, I mean... If we destroy the Bottleship, all the creatures will be released on Bionis."

"Your right." Isaac sighed. "Still frustrated being talked down like we're some insects, while we're handicapped with not wanting collateral damage."

"Now you know how I feel all the time." Saki said.

"And that is why you're weak, caring about such things as collateral damage."

"Wait, that's it." Shulk suddenly said.

"What's it?"

"Collateral damage. Fire." Shulk said. "I don't know about this facility, but back at the barracks in Colony 9, there was a system in place to douse any fires that appeared."

"Sprinklers, or something like that..." Alex said. "But would the Bottleship have it... or just a chemical..."

"I guess there's only one way to really find out." Ness laughed. "All right. I'm fine with setting fire to this place." He threw out a plume of PK Fire, it hit and exploded.

"Summon Flare!" Melia shouted.

"Burninate!" Riki shouted.

Saki switched something on his cannon sword and it suddenly became a flame thrower.

"PK Fire!" Lucas said, throwing a plume.

Noah just nervously laughed. "If I had my 3DS with me, I could have helped."

"Don't worry too much about it." Alex said.

The ringing of a fire alarm went off and a few seconds later, water began to cover the area. The sprinklers in the Bottleship began to go off. Upon contact with James, steam began to come off of his body. Alex just smiled. Suddenly everything in the room seemed a lot cooler.

"If we're insects. Then we'll show you what we're capable of." Alex said. "We'll eat you alive!"

Alex rushed towards James, and punched him, sending a surge of aura through his body. He quickly backed away, and watched as James began to stagger around. Samus, and the 07th Platoon took this as their cue to unload their guns upon him.

The air around him began to heat up. It was acting like a barrier. "You bugs..." He said rather frustrated. "I'll show you all..."

Roy however had sneaked up behind him and just stabbed James in the back. All the heat began to be drawn into Roy's sword.

"Now shoot him with the ice guns!" Roy shouted.

He jumped away, and the 07th Platoon fired with their ice guns. The attacks hit and froze James, just leaving him standing there. Everyone was just catching their breath.

"What's the plan now?" Hayden asked.

"If we can find a containment pod, or a controlled environment where he won't break out of, that would probably be the best move, right?"

"I don't think so." Alex said. "Those punches hurt like hell, if it wasn't for my armor, I'm pretty sure he would have punched right through me. Whatever the walls are, won't be able to contain him, especially if he starts heating up the place."

"Then what about the Cryosphere?" Maurice suggested. "Sector two, the place that I was tasked with investigating. It seems like the only thing that worked on him was freezing him."

"But the moment I remove my sword, he'll just start heating himself up again." Roy said.

"There might be a tank or something that's designed to stay at a set temperature, no matter how much he tries to heat up the place." Lyle said.

"Um... guys, I think something is happening!" Lucas said.

Inside the ice, James' skin was turning darker and darker, suddenly the ice shattered. "You can't contain me!" He laughed.

James just froze and then suddenly grabbed his head, as though he was in pain. "Just who, or what the hell are you?" He managed to say. A twisted smile just crossed his face. "Interesting... I see. I understand..."

"James?" Anthony said.

James' hand began to cover his face, when it was removed there was just a white mask there, with a stoic expression, and two small slits for eyes. From his body, black bug like creatures seemed to be shooting out, and swarming around him.

"What's going on now?" Maurice said.

"This host body's time has run out." James replied. "His desire to fight and kill you all, and gain more power has led to the quick destruction of his body. Not to mention the constant attacks that forced his body to quickly heal."

"You're not James?"

"The person you call James has become one of the many consciousnesses that are now inside of me. I guess for the sake of simplicity, you can call me that." James said. "This physical body won't last more than a few minutes, but that's fine..." James just seemed to look at his hands. "Achi, you fool..."

Saki just raised is cannon sword right to the facsimile of James. "What is this about Achi?"

"Ah, your the kid she liked." James laughed. "Saki, was it?"

"Yeah, what if it is, just can it and spit out what you know about Achi!" Saki said.

"Fine, fine, if you insist." James said. "You've inherited her blood, and I saw you transform a bit. I'm much like her, a creature that grants others power. Our goals just overlap."

"So you're working together?"

"Not really." James replied. "She want's a war god. I want to evolve further, and become perfection. Other than both of us wanting a powerful body, that's it. She just thought she could use some of my power in her experiments. I allowed it, because our goals just overlapped, and it allowed me to get a bit of her blood. Things are about to get interesting."

"What are you talking about?" Shulk asked.

"Looks like my time is up... I'm sure we will be seeing each once again, Smashers." James laughed. His body suddenly began to fall apart, now it was all just the Swarm of black bug like creatures. They just flew away.

Everyone just stood on guard, expecting James to reform, however after about a minute, they figured he was long gone.

"What was that?" Anthony asked.

"That might of been him dying." Ness said. "The notes said that while the power given by the experimental serum was great, their body was destroyed after a set time. And whatever was talking as James at the end said that his time was nearing the end."

"But those bugs?" Shulk said.

"The notes say nothing about that, that from the distance they observed the experiments due to how dangerous it was, they seemed to turn into ash." Ness replied.

"So the ash could have been those bugs, they just never knew..." Lyle said. "What a way to go."

"Adam, what's our new orders?" Anthony asked.

"Head to Sector 2, the Cryosphere." Adam said. "The survivor I saw, I believe is still there. But proceed with caution. I'm almost afraid that we haven't uncovered all of the Bottle Ship's secrets."

"Understood."

"What should we do now?" Samus questioned.

"I say we go with them. We need to find Melissa, and figure everything else out about this ship." Alex said.

They nodded and began to follow the Galactic Federation soldiers.

Alex followed along, and he couldn't help but just smile. The Deleter was gone, the creature that had evolved into Ridley was dead.

But a thought came into his head. With them gone, how would everything else progress? In the game, Samus just ran around rather haphazardly, switching between chasing after the dangerous creature that its very screech was capable of constantly agitating the monsters into being aggressive, and was posing a threat, to going back to looking for survivors despite the fact that the dangerous monster was still at large, just because The Perfect Military Mind (TM) suddenly decided that Samus had to go that way now.

Eventually, Alex figured with those two changes that everything had changed for the better.

* * *

Oren was gasping for air. The two 3DS' of Grace and Chloe were now shattered on the ground. The two of them had faded out of existence. He just fell forwards onto the ground. "Damn it." He muttered

"Here, let me help you up." A voice said.

Oren just looked to his side to see King Dedede and Snake standing there.

"You're not going to avenge your chosen champion, or anything, right?" Oren gasped.

"Our contract is over." Snake replied. "Besides, they were the ones who violated the rules."

Another person walked into the room. Oren just looked up at her. "Lily... I stopped them, but it required destroying their 3DS'."

She just nodded. "I know." She said.

"And then there were eight." A new voice said. They all turned to see Master Hand floating there.

"You allowed this to go on." Oren said, aiming his Naginata right at Master Hand. "We lost two allies. Because I had to eliminate them, otherwise we were going to lose three. Are you going to say you were preoccupied?!"

Lily was also glaring at Master Hand. "You have to stop with this." She said. "You have to admit to the hand you were dealt. Every time you've tried to get rid of Alex, it's ended badly."

"Every time?" Master Hand said.

"Don't play dumb!" Lily said. "Every time you sent someone, or gave a reason to get rid of him, you've just succeeded in thinning our own numbers. Now, I'm the only person left that hasn't allied with him!"

"And are you going to eliminate him?"

"No." Lily said. "We can't waste any more lives. Besides, it was pointless. He's not going to come back."

"And how do you know that?" Master Hand asked.

"I can see into other timelines." Lily said. "That's what happened in all of them so far. He doesn't come back."

Master Hand just floated there. "You can see into other timelines?"

"Yes." Lily said. "I don't know how it works... but I've always been able to. Wait, you didn't know about that when you chose me?"

"No, I didn't... I didn't give that power to you..." Master Hand said. "This is troubling... I need to be alone..." He just quickly flew out of the room, leaving Lily, Kirby, Oren, King Dedede, and Snake there.

"Well, I've got a cigarette to finish." Snake sighed, walking away.

"I've got to be somewhere to do my kingly duties." King Dedede said walking away.

"Yeah right." Kirby muttered.

Oren just put away the Naginata. "Where did you get that anyways?" Lily asked.

"Oh, Pit showed me a weapons room here in the mansion." Oren laughed. "I went there and took some of the weapons to use."

"Oh, I see. Now, why did you believe me?" Lily asked.

Oren just smiled. "Well, I had nothing to lose. Worse case scenario it was a trap, or you were wasting my time. But I didn't have my 3DS on me. So, they couldn't eliminate me."

"But..."

"It needed to charge, I plugged it in." Oren replied. "It was in my room while I was fighting. Besides, we were under a truce, or supposed to be. It was their fault when they went to try and break the others."

"Yeah..."

"I still needed to protect my allies, if they were going to do that." Oren said. "Besides... I think I can also see into other timelines or parallel universes or something."

Lily just looked at him a bit shocked. "What?"

"The best way I can describe it is my dreams." Oren replied. "When I sleep and dream, I see things. They're so vivid, they can't be dreams..."

"What did you see in your dreams?" Lily asked.

"I first started noticing it during school." Oren said. "I'd get a test, but it would be the exact same test as a week or night before. At first I thought it was a bit weird and just a coincidence. But... something else happened."

"And that was?" Lily asked.

"I saw movies, or games." Oren replied. "They were brand new, but I felt like I had watched or played them before. It wasn't a snarky 'Oh I guess this,' and it turns out that happened. It was beat for beat, I remember seeing it before. There have been other things as well, that I hope don't come to pass. Like monster attacks."

Lily just nodded. "It's different from how I experience it, but it sounds about the same."

"And how do you experience it?" Oren asked.

"I don't know. I have no control over it." She replied. "It's just like, it's all ready happened, and I was there, and I know. I noticed it with tests at first too. I was questioning if I had done it all ready last week, since it looked familiar."

Oren just nodded. "Well, thank you."

"Just one other thing." Lily said. "How did you all become allies?"

Oren looked a bit shocked. "I don't know about the others, but I met with Hayden, and we fought. Or rather, I fought, he was able to dodge everything I sent his way, and defeated me effortlessly. He never even used his power. Instead of destroying my 3DS, he offered to make a deal, and we'd work together."

Lily just nodded. "I see, thanks."

* * *

Master Hand had made it to his office. As much as a glove could, he looked furious. "Nugai!" He shouted out, his voice rattling the entire mansion.

"I'm right here in this room, there's no need to shout. What do you need?"Nugai said, turning around from sitting in a spinning chair.

"What's going on?" Master Hand asked.

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific." Nugai replied.

"One of my Chosen Champions can see into alternate timelines."

"Oh that." Nugai sighed.

"That?" Master Hand said.

"If you want the answer, I'll gladly tell you, but in exchange, I want a wire frame. Preferably an old and broken one." Nugai said.

Master Hand floated there a bit dumbfounded. "Okay..." He said, just snapping his fingers and an old wire frame appeared.

Nugai just stood up and looked out the window to the forest that surrounded the Smash Mansion. "A little less than seven years was the time I was given. From December 3rd, 2007 to about the end of August and the beginning of September 2014. At that point, either everything would be destroyed, or our worlds would fuse. Nearly 7 years. It seems like a long time... doesn't it? For a human, how short is life?"

"Where is this going?"

"Master Hand, your suspicions about Alex are completely correct." Nugai said.

"What?!"

"This is the only timeline he exists in." Nugai replied. "And that is why we can win."

"What?" Master Hand said.

"This is not my first fight with Zenith." Nugai said. "It's been so long. So long that I've lost count of how many years it has been since I had originally escaped from inside that video game, from when I had met you, and from when I had met those Smashers I had called my friends. The first time I fought against Zenith, it was a disaster. I floated in nothingness, unsure of what to do. But then, I figured something out."

"And that was?"

"I could send my consciousness back in time. Back to when I got out of the game, and start over once again. And this time, I'd be able to win. At least that's what I thought." Nugai said. "Time and time again, I tried, but failed to stop the crisis. I tried different things, different approaches. But it all ended the same. In alternate worlds, I tried to find allies, and found Lily and Oren. They had the potential to send their consciousness through time and space as well. But it was at that time that I found out that Zenith also had many with this capability. To stop them from being discovered from Zenith, I erased those memories. But it still seems like it seeped through, or she was getting a message from the future."

"So that's why you're placing all your bets on Alex now." Master Hand said.

Nugai just nodded. "That's why. My theory is this, despite Zenith having the same power, and is able to observe and freely move through time, it's still limited. There has to be unknowns and blind spots. The first few times I did it I was unable to retain all of my memories of what happened. The first time, I just woke up, like it was a nightmare, and I continued with my life. Likewise, if someone new is there and does something different they won't know how to react."

Master Hand just floated there a bit shocked. "Then this has this happened before? Worlds merging."

Nugai just nodded.

"Then what's going to happen, this event that Lily said will make Alex not return from the Bottle Ship?"

"I don't know." Nugai replied. "It's never happened before. It's almost like Zenith is using the same weapon against me that I'm using against them."

"Any ideas what that might be?" Master Hand asked.

Nugai just looked down. "Zero. The soldier of Zenith."

"And why does Alex only exist in this timeline?" Master Hand asked.

"Because I saved his life." Nugai replied. "If I didn't do that, like in every other timeline, he would have died."

* * *

Dark Pit had put up a holy barrier around the entrance to a cave they found. For the time being, that would repel all of the creatures. They had made their way through the Underworld, and it wasn't without issues. The constant attacks from the underworld army was taxing.

"How many days have passed?" Phosphora asked, having collapsed and was leaning against the wall of the cave.

Dark Pit just let off a heavy sigh. "Only two."

But they had made a far better time than they were anticipating. They were now just outside of Hades' castle. If they were lucky, they would be able to finish this all tomorrow.

Magnus was sitting up against the cave wall. His sword was right beside him. "If you ask me, this is too easy." Magnus said.

Dark Pit nodded in agreement. "Yeah." He said. "I can't help but agree. I want to say we snuck inside without Hades noticing, but..."

"That would be too convenient." Phosphora added on. "Plautena, Viridi, Hades... All of them are able to see wherever they want. I'm positive that Hades would notice us entering into his domain."

"We might just be walking into a trap." Dark Pit said. "Well, if it is a trap, lets spring it, and put an end to all of this tomorrow."

"Agreed!" The two said.

* * *

The Great Fox was still stuck in the swarms grasp. Fox had tried multiple different things, however he was unable to get the Great Fox moving once again. "This isn't good."

"We're going to die, aren't we?!" Luigi said. "I should of stayed back at the mansion, why did I agree to come with you Mario?"

Captain Falcon was getting tired of Luigi's whining, and was just glaring at him.

"I'm going to begin scanning it, and checking if the Cornerian Army's database has any information on it." Fox said. "We may find a solution that way."

Fox began to get to work on the computers, as the other Smashers could only watch the swarm on the screens. Suddenly the swarm stopped moving around the observatory, and just became one humanoid like figure. It appeared to be looking up at the Great Fox.

"We know you're watching us." A chilling, hollow, voice suddenly said. Everyone just looked completely horrified at the mass.

"It can talk!?" Fox said, absolutely terrified.

"You watch, because you do not understand us."

"So, its not just a mindless monster." Olimar said.

One of the arms of the humanoid figure just reached out for the star in the center of the comet observatory. The swarm began to surround the star. "Scans indicate that its absorbing the energy from the comet observatory!" Fox said. Various regions of the comet observatory began to shut down, soon it was just cold and lifeless. The swarm let go of where the star used to be, however nothing remained.

What was perhaps even more terrifying to Fox though was that it had indeed found a match to something in the Cornerian Army's database.

An Aparoid.

"What is your relation to the Aparoids?" Fox asked.

"Aparoids? Ah, yes, those." The Swarm laughed.

"Its been a long time, Star Fox." Suddenly the Swarm's voice became that of what sounded like a young woman, it seemed mechanical. "Fox McCloud. I'm glad you haven't forgotten about us."

Captain Falcon just looked at Fox and then at the Swarm. "Hey, want to fill us in with what's going on?" He asked.

Fox just glared at Captain Falcon with a look that pretty much said 'as soon as I figure out what's going on.' He returned his attention to the Swarm. "But what's going on? We destroyed you!"

"You destroyed that strain." The female voice replied. "Showing us our own weakness. Some was able to survive, and created an antibody, and then we returned back to the Swarm."

Fox just looked at the screen in shock. "So that means, the Aparoids and the Swarm are one in the same?"

"Correct." The Swarm replied. "We, have separated, and spread our self across the universe, so that each piece could evolve and then eventually all come back together, to become a perfect life form. Soon, nothing will be able to stop us. The creatures you called Aparoids tried to merge with machinery, and evolved like that."

Fox just fired the Great Fox's lasers, however they did nothing against the Swarm.

"How futile." It said. "Just blast away at us, it will do nothing."

"What else are you responsible for?" Fox shouted.

"Many of the creatures that you Smashers have encountered." The Swarm laughed. "Besides Aparoids there were also Shroobs."

Mario and Luigi just looked at the Swarm. "What?!"

"What else was there, and the names that I was called." The Swarm said. "Some merged with a Powerstar and became The Dark Star. There was the Chaos Kin. Some crystallized and became Phazon. There was Dark Matter. The Bittercold. There was the Plasm Wraith."

"You were that creature?!" Olimar said.

"I have had nearly an unlimited amount of names and faces." The Swarm replied.

"But it sounds like each of those forms were defeated." Captain Falcon said. "So, if we punch you hard enough, then we can beat you too."

"Such a primitive way of thinking." The Swarm said. "True, they were beaten, some much easier than others. But that is the process of evolution and natural selection. And even then, the fragments returned to us, and strengthened us. But of all the creatures, only one strain has never fully returned to us, and defies us."

"And why are you telling us this?" Mario asked.

"Because it is something that the Smashers know a lot of, and have fought in the past." The Swarm replied.

Suddenly everything on the Great Fox began to surge. The Smashers just looked around panicked, and the next thing they knew they had been teleported away. The Great Fox was now falling towards a planet. Luckily, they were over an ocean.

They all braced for impact and after they hit, they just took a few moments to gather their composure.

"Are we safe?" Luigi asked.

"Seems like it." Olimar replied.

"Fox what did you do?" Mario asked.

"I don't know, I didn't do anything. It was that surge of energy." Fox replied. "It just teleported us away... And overloaded and destroyed nearly everything in the process."

"And do your systems say what overloaded it?" Captain Falcon wondered.

Fox just looked across the computer, and the few remaining things. "It's saying there was a surge of Subspace energy..." Fox replied.

* * *

Back at the comet observatory, the Swarm was up looking where the Great Fox had used to be.

Floating there now was a blue glowing man.

"So, you appear." The Swarm said. "What did they call you again? Tabuu?"

Tabuu just looked down at the Swarm. "Pitiful." He said.

"You who stole my Swarm, and created Subspace." The Swarm said. "You shall return back to me."

Tabuu just let off a small chuckle. "Subspace shall only obey me." He said. He floated down to the comet observatory and just set foot on it. The Swarm instantly rushed for him, however, it was repelled by a barrier. "How can Subspace return to you, if you can't even touch it?" A ball of energy appeared in Tabuu's hand and he just lightly tossed it towards the swarm. Upon contact it exploded and sent the swarm flying in every direction.

The Swarm reformed, but it was quite clear that Tabuu's attack had destroyed a few of them.

"We have been growing stronger!" The Swarm said.

"Trying to evolve to beat me." Tabuu sighed. "How pointless."

"Enjoy your dominion over Subspace while it lasts." The Swarm said. "Because soon, we will find a way to become one with Subspace once again, and you will join us. We will become perfect."

Tabuu just sighed. His wings appeared on his back, and the Swarm quickly flew away to avoid the onslaught of off waves. "How boring and weak you are." Tabuu sighed, before opening a portal into Subspace and walking into it.

* * *

File 1

Do you want to save?

YES

Party: Alex, Zoroark, Saki, Isaac, Noah, Lucas, Samus, Hayden, Ness, Roy, Shulk, Reyn, Sharla, Dunban, Melia, Riki, Adam, Anthony, Red Shirt 1, Red Shirt 2, Red Shirt 3

**8 Chosen Champions Remain**

* * *

**3DS Power Notes:**

**-Arrows and Bombs come from the AR games. Arrows from AR Archery, and the bombs from AR Shoot when the dragon appears, the steel balls are replaced with bombs to damage the AR Dragon**

**-Download Play: Obvious enough.**

**-File Folders: Storing things. Part of the idea also came from in the zombie mii plaza game where if someone had reading as a hobby, they would give you a book that shot out swords.**

**Other Notes:**

**Well, this was actually really short only 20,000 words... Although I did skip several boss battles in Other M... **

**"****You shouldn't have done that, little brat." Is actually one of the biggest wham lines in Xenoblade Chronicles. Why it's here, despite sword valley being nowhere close to that scene in the game, well... Alex changing what happened in Other M will have a huge impact.**

**The corpse with green splotches. I'm sure its actually supposed to be blood but I like my interpretation better.**

**Roy and Isaac being unable to read English: Once again, my explanation is that there is some magic that allows everyone to communicate. Being able to read, is another story.**

**"Metroids are energy based organisms, the reason they were weak to cold is because cold is the absence of kinetic energy. You can't just breed that out." Okay, I'm not a scientist, and I'll admit I saw this on one of the many, many summaries of everything wrong about the game, and my googling wasn't exactly showing any discussion about whether or not it was actually possible based upon this. Regardless, I still say that trying to breed freeze proof Metroids is a pointless venture when the rest of their forms are immune to ice. (Well, except for that omega Metroid at the end of Fusion for some reason..) And if you have the means to control them, wouldn't you want an army of Omega Metroids instead? **

**"Ah well, I've still got my Cannon Sword, and I'm not ready to retire this old model. Besides, none of them feel right, they're nothing like my Dolphin." Saki's gun actually had a name... I didn't know this. I always went by the Brawl Dojo calling it "Cannon Sword." but yeah... Its apparently Dolphin gun, and called that in the PAL trophy description in Smash 4. I'm going with Cannon Sword being the type of weapon, and Dolphin being the specific model. (In case you're wondering where Dolphin came from, that was the codename for the Gamecube)**

**In the game Lyle doesn't arrive at the Test Center. It's speculated that James killed him, hid the body, and stole the explosives that was used to blow up the Test Center, and it was a coincidence that preevolved Ridley found Lyle's body and attacked it. Although Samus' monolouge states that it was Madeline Bergman who set the facility to self destruct, but that could have just been speculation on her part. The game isn't exactly clear...**

**Anyways, we're going completely off the rails here.**

**As a small side note, that character in Project X Zone 2 from Xenoblade. (Kind of hoping Riki is an assist, even though they tend to stay away from the non human characters in Project X Zone...) And Lucina and Chrom. Wow. Did not see those coming. And Metal Face is a boss in Project X Zone 2... I need to play the first one now...**


	10. It can't get worse

Chapter 10: It can't get worse

A cloaked figure just landed on Valak Mountain. Immediately the cloak changed colors from a dark black, to white, to allow for better camouflage in the snow. "This is Zero, I've landed on Valak Mountain safely." He said into an earpiece.

"Very good, your mission hasn't changed. Achi hasn't come out of the Bottle Ship, however she is still alive. Go and retrieve her."

"Understood."

"Any questions?" The voice asked.

"Why has the Bottle Ship fused with this place?" Zero asked.

"Our benefactor had given us a chaos seed, that Achi delivered to the Bottle Ship. This is the result."

"I see." Zero replied. He just looked over a cliff at Sword Valley and the Bottle Ship in the distance. "This beautiful world tainted by something that ugly and mechanical."

"Agent Zero, did you say something?"

"No." Zero replied. He just ended the communication and looked at the Bottle ship. His cloak just blowing in the wind. "I know you've been watching me."

"Yeah." A voice said. Walking towards Zero was Nugai. He didn't look defensive at all. "But to be honest, I wasn't trying to hide."

"You should be hiding from me, Andrew!" Zero said.

Nugai just blinked a bit confused. "So you know me, but I don't know you... Are you just someone from Zenith who can't think for themselves?"

Zero just glared at Nugai."What?" He snapped.

"I'm just wondering if you're just parroting Zenith." Nugai replied. "Or if you're someone who can't actually fight back because their family has been taken hostage, or you've been threatened for that in case you step out of line."

Zero just laughed. "You're mistaken. I'm with Zenith of my own free will, and all because of you!" He pointed his finger at Nugai. "I'm here for revenge! They have nothing to take hostage, or threaten because you ruined my life, and stole everything from me. And to top it all off you don't even remember who I am?"

Nugai just let off a sigh. "In my battle against Zenith, with the amount of people I've crossed, or had to deal with I unfortunately can't remember all of their names or faces. You're going to have to be a bit more specific. Or you could remove your mask."

"Well, how about this. Because of you, my father and brother are dead."

Nugai pondered it for a few seconds. "Nope, sorry, that's not ringing any bells."

Zero was just furious. Energy around him began to spark. "Then how about this, March 9th 2008! Does that remind you of anything."

"Oh, Super Smash Brothers Brawl's release date!" Nugai said.

A ball of energy narrowly missed Nugai's head. "Stop screwing around!" Zero said.

Nugai's expression changed, he ditched his rather playful demeanor and just became serious. "I see... so that's who you are. That's why you call yourself Zero."

"Because I have nothing thanks to you, Andrew!" Zero replied.

"First of all, if you're going to keep using my real name, why don't you tell me yours?" Nugai said. Zero however just glared at him. "But, I guess that means you want me to either remember it, or read your source code... Secondly, your brother was dead long before I met him."

"Shut up! What you did that day..." Zero snapped.

Nugai just summoned his sword and held it in front of him. "I stopped Zenith from starting this world crossing and fusing on that day." Nugai said. "Tell me, is the only reason you're with Zenith to oppose me, and get revenge?"

"Yes. I hate you with every fiber of my being. And I will do everything in my power to make sure your plans don't come to fruition." Zero said.

Nugai just laughed. "Well for that to happen, there would have to be a plan."

"What?!" Zero said, rather frustrated. "There's no plan?"

"Why are you so shocked? It's true." Nugai replied. "After how many times I tried to fight Zenith, and how many times plans were foiled or beaten in previous timelines, I kind of figured the best plan is that there is no plan, and I just make it up as I go along."

"So my father and brother were just casualties of you making it up as you go along?!"

"Perhaps. That's an unfortunate side effect of improvising." Nugai said. "You don't know if it's good or bad until it's over."

"I'll kill you!" Zero shouted. In his hands appeared a gigantic battleaxe. He just ran towards Nugai and swung it. Nugai however blocked it with his sword.

"An akashic point weapon?" Nugai said rather surprised. "Meaning you're one of the 11 others..."

"I would delete you out of existence if I could. I'd undo all the changes that you did..." Zero said. "You self proclaimed hero!"

"I'm not a hero." Nugai replied. "I'm just someone who's willing to do whatever is necessary to stop Zenith. If I have to go through hell itself, and be hated by the very people I'm trying to save, then so be it!"

"Oh really?!" Zero said. "Well then how about if I tell Alex the truth?"

"You think he'll believe anything you say? Especially when you don't even know what the whole truth is?" Nugai wondered.

"Even so, I just need to say enough to make him begin to doubt you and your plan." Zero replied. "It doesn't need to be the truth, it could be a complete lie. But I think that will be enough for him to start pulling the strings and unraveling the truth for himself..."

Nugai just jumped back and put some distance between them.

"Zero. This conversation is over. You have bonded with one of the 11 remaining Akashic Points." Nugai said. "If I had to wager a guess it would be one of the 7 in our world. As long as you are a member of Zenith, you are my enemy. And I will treat you as such."

Energy surged around Nugai. The snow of Valak mountain was just pushed away from him.

He just stepped forwards. The next thing that Zero knew was that Nugai was right in front of him. Nugai placed his hand right on his forehead. He was frozen in place unable to move. "Now then Zero, let me tell you something. This is a war. And casualties on both sides are inevitable. I won't deny that I slayed your father, but when he stood in front of me, he believed in what he was doing, and was willing to die for it. I can't say you hold that same conviction."

Nugai just stepped away, and zero regained his senses. "What did you do?!" He asked rather frustrated.

"Nothing." Nugai replied. "I just read your source code."

"Aren't you going to kill me? I thought I was your enemy!" Zero shouted.

"You are, but, to kill you would be pointless. You are still a kid, and you understand nothing."

"I understand everything! You killed my family!" Zero shouted, swinging his axe right at Nugai. Nugai drew his sword and countered the attack. When they clashed, Zero felt the full extent of Nugai's power, and just staggered backwards in fear.

"I understand if you want to kill me." Nugai said. "If I was in your position, I would want to kill me as well. But, if you wish for that, either fully devote yourself to Zenith and their goals, or cast them aside and come to me with only the intention for revenge. You can't continue to have both of them weighing you down. Devote yourself fully to one thing."

Zero just collapsed on the ground. "Just kill me right now." He said.

"If I killed you right now, it would be gigantic a waste. I think you have a much bigger part to play in this." Nugai said. "Besides having someone else after my head makes things even more interesting."

"What?! You're crazy!"

"Yes, yes I am. Listen, Zero, if you ever doubt what Zenith is doing there will always be a place for you over here. If you cast aside Zenith, and they try to eliminate you, I will protect you, and tell you the full truth of what happened that day. Even if you come to me having fully devoted yourself to Zenith, I will tell you what happened. But until you have fully chosen your side, don't appear in front of me again" With that Nugai just vanished.

Zero just screamed out in frustration. His call was enough to bring attention to himself. The large dragon, Avalanche Abaasy landed right in front of Zero. He just looked up at it and it just froze, and began to cower in fear. "Your targets lie elsewhere." He said. Just jumping onto the back of it. "Take me to our destination."

* * *

They had progressed into Sector 2, the Cryosphere. Like the name suggested, everything had gotten much colder, it was like they were back on Valak mountain again. Saki was shivering.

"Why do they need a cold area on this stupid ship!" Saki shouted out.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure it out." Ness said. "There are creatures that could probably only thrive in this environment."

"And, if what the documents saying that they were trying to make freeze proof Metroids were true, I think they would need a cold environment to test that out... And perhaps see how well their freeze proof Metroids worked." Isaac pointed out.

"Still, isn't there other ways to do this?" Saki wondered. "I mean, the whole place is freakin' cold. Can't you just have a room or two. Like a walk in freezer!"

"That might be a bit too small for there uses..." Zoroark said.

They had made it to what looked like a giant building in the snow. They opened the doors and walked in.

"Finally." Saki said. "Someplace warmer."

"This is where I believe I had seen activity of a survivor." Adam announced, since James had been defeated and whatever he had been using to jam their communications had either been destroyed or hacked open, their communications were restored. "Be careful, you don't know what's coming up ahead." The 07th Platoon just nodded and began to search the building for the survivor.

"We should also start searching." Alex said.

The Smashers nodded in agreement and began to walk forwards. Roy however was just looking at the door that led back outside. "Something wrong?" Ness wondered.

"Yeah," Roy replied. "We didn't encounter any monsters on our way here."

Everyone just froze and looked at each other. "Could it have been the large group we were traveling in?" Hayden questioned.

"No, they were still attacking us back in the Biosphere." Samus replied. "I doubt it was that..."

"Hey, Alex, what was an enemy that you encountered here, and did we pass them and they were just hiding?" Isaac asked.

Alex just stopped and thought about it. "There was that four legged tree one..." He said, "We should have passed one, but I don't remember anything like that..."

"Master, why don't you use Aura to see if monsters are hiding outside?" Zoroark suggested.

Alex just nodded, and closed his eyes. He opened them and just looked around. "There's nothing..." He replied. "It's like there is suddenly nothing..."

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked.

"I can't find any signs of life, only us. There's no monsters... It's just like they all of a sudden vanished." Alex replied. They all just looked around.

"Did you perhaps find the survivor that Adam found?" Samus wondered.

"I wouldn't be able to with Aura." Alex replied.

"What do you mean?" Saki questioned.

However before Alex could reply, a voice shouted from the other end of the room. "We found the survivor!" Maurice shouted. Everyone began to make their way to them, however Isaac, and Saki just held Alex back.

"What did you mean?" Isaac asked. "Everything should be able to give off Aura."

Alex just nodded. "If they're alive. The survivor they just found isn't alive. She's a robot."

The two of them just looked at Alex a bit shocked. "A robot?" Saki repeated. "They found a robot?"

"Yes, it looks human, but it's a robot. An android." Alex said. "To make matters worse, she's one of the reasons why the ship is currently like this. She can control every single creature in this ship. She probably even knows that we know this."

"So, we should stay on guard." Isaac said. "Okay, I can do that."

"We might be able to reason with her though." Alex said. "The Galactic Federation tried to destroy her, so... if we can prove that we're not here to hurt her, and will go away quickly once everything is back to normal, she may be willing to help us."

"That sounds like a plan to me." Saki said.

They began to follow the Smashers and the group from Bionis. However, everyone had froze in front of a giant warehouse door. When Alex, Saki and Isaac had caught up, they saw why.

Inside this warehouse was a giant face mechon. Currently it was inoperative. The chest compartment was open, with no one inside it. All the parts were just gray, and in a rather humanoid shape. "What's going on here?" Shulk said rather surprised.

"Did a Face Mechon come in here?" Reyn said.

"Maybe this is why there was no monsters..." Roy pointed out.

"But it seems too big to fit through the doors..." Hayden pointed out.

"So it was built in here?" Shulk questioned.

"Perhaps this survivor will have the answers we seek." Dunban said.

Everyone just nodded and continued to make their way to the survivor. They eventually got into a room, and sitting on a chair was a young blonde haired woman. She wore a white lab coat, in her hair was a single hair clip. Currently she seemed a bit afraid. Behind her was a giant monitor that was currently off. "Is this all of you?" She asked.

"Yes." Anthony replied.

"I'm Dr. Madeline Bergman." She introduced herself.

"The director of this space station?" Shulk asked.

"Yes." She replied. "And you're not from the Galactic Federation."

"Right." Shulk replied. "We're from the Bionis. Where this space station had merged with."

"I see." She said. "Unfortunately, if you came to me, expecting answers I don't have any. I don't know why this place fused with your planet. Or why, or how it was only part of it, while the other part exists where it does originally. I don't understand what's going on."

"You don't understand?" Dunban said. "But you're the director here, shouldn't you know?"

She shook her head. "Things went out of my control. It's no longer the ship that I run, and... I can't answer that."

"But, I can." A voice suddenly said. On the monitor appeared the video feed of a woman wearing a sea green dress appeared. She had brown hair and was just sitting in a chair. She had a rather childish smile across her face.

"Achi!" Saki said. "Where are you?!"

"I'm aboard this ship, I'll tell you that much." Achi replied. "But, you're going to have to find me on your own, if you can."

"I'll find you..." Saki muttered.

"Now, let's see... How to explain this? Where do I begin? Right! I know!" Achi just laughed. "You've been reading their research logs, so you know this place is a bioweapons research facility for Zenith."

"And you were the one who supplied them with the shard of Phazon." Samus asked.

"Yes." Achi replied. "Well, as for the reason why these two places merged. They were connected by Chaos Seeds. I handed a Chaos Seed to the researchers here, and someone else handed a Chaos Seed to the leader of the Mechonis. They were connected, and the spots began to merge. Almost just as planned. Just a minor setback on having the idiot scientists nearly kill the seed. But nothing a little chaos couldn't fix."

"So we were used?" Madeline asked.

"For someone with a big robotic brain, you sure are slow..." Achi laughed.

"What?" Samus said rather shocked.

"Was that supposed to be a big secret and I spoiled it?" Achi wondered. "Well yeah, the person in front of you Smashers and Galactic Federation dogs is actually Melissa Bergman. Or MB for short. Which also stands for, Mother Brain."

"What?!" Samus said rather shocked.

"Yep, those Galactic Federation dummies decided to build another one. After the first Mother Brain worked out so well for the Chozo, don't you think? And then what happened with Aurora Unit 313 again?" Achi laughed. "It's like they're doomed to be complete idiots and keep on repeating the same mistakes."

"Stop it." MB said.

"Oh, you should of seen it, when the Galactic Federation came here to try and take her away. How she went on a killing spree and controlled all of the monsters to kill them and the scientists." Achi laughed. "And now you're all probably her next targets."

They all instinctively just backed away from MB.

"Achi." Saki just raised his Cannon Sword and aimed it right at the monitor.

"Oh what good will that do Saki?" Achi laughed. "You should be aiming lower, at least try to take out her robotic body."

"That's enough." A voice said. Appearing behind Achi was a person in a cloak. "Zenith has called you back."

"Zero!?" Alex shouted.

"We meet again." Zero said. "Although it's only through this monitor. I wish to talk but, I have things to do. If you wish to meet me again, live."

Achi's rather playful smile just disappeared. She got up from her chair, and looked completely serious. "I see. You're right enough time has been wasted here. If you live, we'll meet again, Saki."

The video feed just ended, and they were all left with staring at MB. She just sat in the chair, shaking.

"MB." Alex said, walking towards her.

"She was probably the one who called the Galactic Federation here, and informed them of my presence." MB said. "She was responsible..."

"So, what should we do now?" Lyle asked.

"Our mission was to find survivors and proof of a conspiracy in the Galactic Federation." Anthony said. "If you come with us, we can protect you."

"I'm sorry." MB replied. "But that is impossible. This android body was only made to house me in the Bottle Ship. Once you're out of range, it will be useless. It will shut down, and you'll just be left with a husk."

"There is still another survivor, the real Madeline Bergman." Alex said.

"And where is she?" Samus asked.

"She's safe..." MB said. "She locked herself in Room MW, to protect herself from the monsters."

Alex was just a bit confused. The MB in the game was terrified of Samus, and the other Galactic Federation soldiers, although that was because she had seen James kill Maurice, and the Galactic Federation coming to get her to terminate her earlier.

"On that note, do you know what happened to the monsters?" Roy asked.

MB just nodded. "After your fight with the one you called James, and his body began to separate and form those bug creatures. They began to go through all of the bottle ship, infecting the monsters... They're all in one spot. This place is no longer under my control, and soon, they will infect me... No, they all ready have, and I'm losing the last of my independence."

"Where did they go?" Anthony asked.

"Sector Zero..." MB replied. "They're all there..."

"Sector Zero?" Hayden asked.

"It's where they were cloning Metroids." Alex explained. "And MB's main core is located."

Everyone just nodded.

"So we should then go find Madeline Bergman." Anthony said.

"But before we go, what was that face Mechon for?" Shulk asked.

MB just looked at them. "I was building it as a weapon. To take this world's technology back to our own. This was still primarily a weapon's research facility. I did not betray my programming."

"Then we best destroy it." Alex said as he began to walk away. However the door suddenly sealed shut trapping them in the room with MB.

"I can not allow you to do that." She said, her voice was suddenly different. It was rather sinister and commanding. "We meet once again, Smashers. You can continue calling this vessel MB, since I doubt James would be a fitting name for it."

"What did you do?"

"I deleted what was left of MB." The voice replied. "This will be a suitable vessel, at least for communications. We don't have to worry about it rotting like James. I have now assumed full control of this space station."

Everyone just stared at MB. "I control every still living creature, and every system in this ship. I could kill you where you all stand before you even have a chance to react."

"And why don't you?" Alex asked.

"Because I want to see you squirm and suffer." MB replied. "And didn't I tell you, back when I was in James' body, that I wanted to evolve further and achieve perfection?"

"And this stops you from killing us all right now, because?" Alex said.

"Are you stupid?" MB wondered.

"I'm willing to ask the same thing to you." Alex said. "Why would you willingly keep us alive, when all it takes is a press of a button?"

"True evolution, can only be gauged by how well one survives in the environment, and adversity." MB replied. "There is only so much lab tests can do. How something on pen and paper and during testing is sound, but when put out into the real world, new and unforeseen actions take place."

"So your letting us live, to fight you, and further your evolution." Shulk said.

"In deed." MB said. "If I'm beaten here, I need to evolve further. It's as simple as that. There is also the fact that your anguish, anger and hate gives me sustenance. Now, let's begin."

The door just opened, and she motioned for everyone to leave. "Your role is to go rescue Madeline. The current ultimate form that I have created from what is on this ship will soon be there. So, you better get to her before it does. Now, goodbye."

A portal appeared behind MB, and she stepped into it. A moment later it disappeared.

Everyone exchanged glances before quickly rushing out of the room.

"So, what just happened?" Anthony asked.

"If I had to guess, I'd say the Swarm used the Ing's abilities to take over electronics and then take over MB." Samus replied. "This is not good."

They passed the room that had the empty Face Mechon. However when they opened the door they saw that the room was empty, the Face Mechon had disappeared.

"I'm not liking this." Sharla said.

"How could something that large just vanish?" Reyn said.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it was the Ing." Alex replied. "They took it over and moved it."

"They probably did the same portal thing that MB just did." Shulk said.

"That would have to be my guess as well." Samus added on. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing it once again later."

They continued down the hallways, until they eventually exited the building and were once again greeted with the bitter cold artificial winds of the Cryosphere.

"Adam how are things on your end?" Samus asked.

"Not good." Adam sighed. "I'm locked in this room."

"What?" Samus said a bit surprised.

"Even breaking the windows and going down to the lower level didn't work." Adam replied. "MB, or whoever, or whatever we're facing now has me completely locked in this room."

"Then we should go and rescue Adam." Maurice said.

"No, don't bother." Adam replied. "If they wanted me dead, they would have done it already. My current gear also wouldn't be of any use to you. I've just got a rifle and a freeze gun. I would not add anything to our weapons. And if I went back to the ship to get other weapons, we would be wasting valuable time. You need to go rescue Madeline, before whatever it is goes and attacks her. I'll have to stay in here for the time being. I'll try and support you all in any way that I can, whether through continued surveillance or moral support."

"All right, that's great Adam!" Anthony said.

"Why don't you start by tracking MB?" Samus suggested.

"All right, I can do that."

Everyone nodded in agreement and continued through the Cryosphere.

"All right, I've managed to Find MB" Adam announced. "She's in this place called Sector Zero. And that is where these freeze proof Metroids are supposed to exist."

Samus just froze. She looked around at everyone else. "I have to destroy that place." She said. "If they do exist, I can't let them. They have to be destroyed."

"And if they can't be frozen, do you realize how much danger you would be in?" Adam asked.

"Yes." Samus replied. "But I might still be able to vaporize them with the power bombs..."

"There might be another way." Adam said. "Sector Zero has a defense protocol."

"And that is?" Samus asked.

"If enough damage is done to it, it will disconnect from the Bottle Ship and explode. It will destroy MB. I'd go do it myself, but I'm stuck here. It's most likely going to be a suicide mission, and there is very little chance that one or any of you will make it out."

"Then I'll do it." Samus said.

Everyone just looked at her rather shocked. "What?"

"Well, escaping from places before they explode is my specialty." She said. "I can do it."

Everyone was just standing there a bit shocked. "Well, if Samus says she can do it, I'll trust her." Anthony said.

"Same." Alex said. "She can go destroy Sector Zero, we'll rescue Madeline meet up, figure out how to defuse these places, and then get back to the Smash Mansion, and have a nice dinner or something."

"All right. Sounds like a plan to me." Samus replied.

However Alex just froze. In the game, Sector Zero was a place that Samus never got in. Adam stopped her, by shooting her in the back, and he walked in there to die. Essentially stealing the last level of the game.

"Something wrong?" Samus asked.

Alex just shook his head. "No. Just don't die."

"Don't worry, I won't." Samus said, walking away.

"All right everyone I've got the location of where I believe Melissa is." Adam said. "Follow my instructions."

They began to run away. Alex just took one final look over at Samus, before he began to follow the rest of the group.

Samus just let off a sigh as she began to run through the hallways of the Cryosphere, making her way to Sector Zero. "I'm alone again." She said. "The way it should be."

"I'm still here." Adam said. "Listen, Samus, are you sure about this? This is dangerous. And, it's very likely that you could actually die."

Samus just nodded. "Yeah, sorry Adam. But both you and I know that freeze proof Metroids can't exist. They have to be destroyed no matter what."

"Very well." Adam sighed. "I would gladly take your place, but I'm trapped here..."

"I understand. Besides, I'm getting a feeling I have something to settle with who's there... and waiting for me..."

"Something there?" Adam questioned.

"Yeah. If Phazon is there, I'm sure it's there as well." Samus replied.

"You mean Dark Samus?" Adam replied.

"Yes." Samus replied.

"I've read about her in your reports." Adam replied.

"After I left the Galactic Federation you still read my reports?" Samus asked.

"I did." Adam replied. "I was a bit curious where your independent life was taking you, and what tasks and adventures you went on."

Samus just nodded. "I see."

"I can't help but feel responsible for this though." Adam admitted. "I wrote a report using your information on Metroids, stating why the Galactic Federation shouldn't look into Metroids, and why they were better extinct. But it seems that my report was stolen and one of the many things that were here."

"Adam, I have a question." Samus said.

"And that is?"

"What are your thoughts on what I did with the Last Metroid?" Samus replied.

Adam sighed. "None of us knew it would turn out this way. You just delivered it at the request of the Galactic Federation, they wanted it to research it's energy producing abilities."

"I can't help but wonder, even back then, was that the invisible hand of the Galactic Federation and Zenith, moving us all like the pawns we were." Samus said.

"Perhaps." Adam replied.

Samus had reached a door. She opened it and began to walk down the long dark hallway, that was only lit by blue florescent lights.

"Be careful, Samus." Adam said. "I can only assume that this is where they would have freeze proof Metroids, if they exist."

"You don't have to tell me." Samus replied, walking forwards.

From behind a pillar, a small Metroid emerged. It just floated there. Samus just raised up her arm cannon and aimed at it, firing an ice beam. It hit and froze the Metroid, causing it to fall on the ground and partly shatter. Samus just followed up with a missile causing it to completely explode.

"So what was that about freeze proof Metroids?" Samus asked.

"My guess is that it was one of their main goals." Adam said. "They may of not been able to achieve it yet, or that Metroid was too young and hadn't achieved this fabled immunity to ice."

Samus nodded and then turned to face the front the doors of Sector Zero. She went over to the doors. They were locked. She had expected this, their enemy couldn't be stupid enough to leave their core exposed, and with the front doors wide open. "Well, it's my job to destroy this place." Samus sighed. She just aimed her arm cannon right at the door and unloaded several super missiles at it. The explosion destroyed part of the door and she walked right in to see another door. However this one opened.

"You didn't have to destroy the door. You could have just knocked." MB's voice rang out through out the room.

"If I did, I wasn't expecting you to open it." Samus replied. She held her arm cannon in front of her and began to traverse through Sector Zero. There were many different computers that were hooked up to tubes and containment chambers. Inside the chambers were Metroids. Soon she saw a giant containment chamber, and sitting in the middle, surrounded by Metroids, was MB.

"Hello, Samus." MB laughed. "Welcome, to sector Zero. MB's birthplace, and the place where the Metroid Militarization Plan began. I truly have to thank you for this. If it wasn't for you who brought the Last Metroid to the Galactic Federation, none of this would have been possible."

Samus just stood there with her arm cannon aimed right at MB.

"Is something wrong?" MB asked.

"I was expecting someone else." Samus said.

"Ah, yes, your previous encounters with Phazon..." MB replied. "You were expecting your doppelganger, the one you called Dark Samus."

Several Ing began to jump onto MB. And soon they transformed into a replica of Samus' powersuit. The major differences being that it was black, glowed with blue energy, and currently there was no helmet.

"Is this to your liking?" MB asked.

"But how?" Samus asked.

"The Ing had memorized the composition of your suit, and have been able to replicate the technology involved." MB replied. "It also helps that the Galactic Federation had been trying to replicate your suit as well, to mass produce and use as a weapon, so there was a prototype available. There is also the fact that, Dark Samus' power was one with the phazon, and it remembers her. It saw her as a valuable asset. It was our harbinger."

Samus just stood there, not bothering to show any emotions.

"I think you understand." MB replied. "I told you that I wished to be perfection and have constantly evolved. At the current moment, this form is what I find the most suitable and powerful... While this vessel really is good. It's been the longest I've ever been able to maintain a body. By now, even if they did nothing, their body would have completely been destroyed. But this android's shell hasn't decomposed a bit... the only downside is that it only has above average strength."

"You know, I liked it better when Dark Samus was silent." Samus replied.

MB just sighed. "You do realize what will happen if we start fighting here." She said. "We will cause enough damage that will result in Sector Zero detaching, and exploding."

"And that's what I came here to do." Samus replied.

"With you in it?" MB laughed. "Well, very well then."

"If I can destroy you, and the shard of phazon, that's good enough for me." Samus replied.

"Even if you have to sacrifice yourself?" MB asked.

"If that's the only way." Samus replied. She just began to fire her arm cannon at MB who jumped out of the way and shot back. Samus dodged the attacks, and began to run through the lab.

"Metroids restrain her, and suck out her life force!" MB said. Several Metroids just rushed towards Samus, with so many approaching her she quickly transformed into a Morphball and dropped a power bomb. The resulting explosion vaporized each and every Metroid, and damaged a good part of the lab.

"You..." MB just glared at her.

"What's wrong?" Samus asked. "Afraid that all of your progress will be lost?"

Long scythe like claws came out of MB's back. It just began to destroy the place. "No, the Ing have all ready saved all the information that was thought to be necessary, now If you wish to die, then so be it." MB said.

"Large amounts of damage to sector Zero have been detected. Initiating emergency protocol. Three minutes until Sector Zero is ejected. Evacuate immediately."

Samus just laughed. "Three minutes. That will be more than enough time to make you extinct."

MB raised up her arm cannon and just fired it towards Samus, who was able to dodge, it hit something behind her and created an explosion. "Smashers, I have decided that you are a threat to my existence." MB said. "I will now use everything in my power to eliminate you. A piece with the data that these strains had, had all ready met with the main Swarm. If I lose, there will be no loss. Phazon will continue to exist. We will continue to exist. And you, you will all die here!"

MB let out a surge of Phazon. Canisters that seemed to be holding the substance suddenly exploded, creating tentacles of phazon. They just seemed to rush for MB and charge her up. She began to shoot phazon blasts all over sector zero, causing even more damage.

Samus just raised her arm cannon and began to fire at MB, aiming at her still exposed head. A helmet however appeared on it, making her the spitting image of Dark Samus.

She just raised her arm cannon and began to send out a rapid volley of tiny energy bullets. Samus just dodged out of the way, and watched as it hit more and more equipment, causing it to explode and be destroyed.

Dark Samus just began to float up into the air and was covered by a shield of phazon. She followed it up by rushing towards Samus, who quickly jumped out of the way. However as soon as she landed, Dark Samus quickly zipped away. She seemed like she was teleporting around the room.

"_I've forgotten how much of a pain you are to fight._" Samus thought.

Quickly Samus rushed towards her and managed to catch her, with her grapple beam, quickly tossing her against a wall and firing a super missile at her. It hit and exploded, however it seemed to do no damage.

Samus just rushed forwards punching Dark Samus, and then following through with several missiles at point blank. Even Dark Samus wasn't able to withstand such an attack. A chunk of the suit had been blown off, along with some of the robotic parts that were underneath.

Quickly Dark Samus tried to warp away, and created a dark echo to keep Samus occupied. However Samus just dropped a power bomb, causing the Dark Echo to be destroyed, and the Ing that were acting as MB's suit, and limbs to mostly be destroyed. MB fell onto the ground. What remained of the scraps of her armor was sparking with phazon energy, leaving MB unable to move.

Samus raised her arm cannon, ready to send a few more super missiles at her. However across her speaker system Adam suddenly talked.

"Samus." Adam said. "I've got some bad news!"

"What?" Samus asked.

"I don't know how or why, but whatever was supposed to detach to get rid of Sector Zero has jammed." Adam said. "Sector Zero is staying attached to the Bottle Ship! I don't know how much damage it's going to do!"

"So I just have to outrun the explosion." Samus said.

"No, I wasn't done yet." Adam replied. "It seems like MB had jammed Sector Zero's doors shut too. Your trapped."

Samus just turned over to look at MB, who was slowly repairing herself. Dark Tendrils from the Ing were shooting out for the small robotic parts and any scrap metal that was left, to reconstruct. "What's wrong?" MB laughed.

"You're in the same situation as me." Samus replied.

MB just continued laughing. "You'd like to think that."

Beneath her a portal appeared. Samus however fired a missile right into the portal causing an explosion and causing the portal to be dispelled.

"You're not going anywhere." Samus said. "I'm going to make sure you die! I can not allow another Dark Samus to run across the universe."

More and more Ing just began to appear and surround MB, creating a gigantic black sphere. Samus tried shooting at it, however it did next to nothing. Whatever the sphere was, it had taken on the properties of some of the hardest materials in the universe. Samus assumed that MB was in the center of the sphere, and her attacks wouldn't destroy enough of it.

"Well, if you want to stop another Dark Samus, you best start by surviving." MB's voice crackled. "The Swarm will create another if they think it will be valuable. They have all of my data now. It matters not what happens here!"

She glanced down at the timer that she had placed on her visor, to keep track of how much time was left during the battle. Much to her shock there wasn't any time left.

"Just 15 seconds." She thought. "I guess I only have one chance at this. Hopefully it works."

* * *

The explosion shook the rest of the ship. Everyone just braced themselves, and after the shaking stopped they continued on."

"I guess that means Samus succeeded." Saki said.

Anthony just laughed. "Of course she did. Samus is a person who can make the impossible possible."

"Yeah. Looks like she hasn't lost her touch from when we trained with her." Lyle said.

"She always liked going above and beyond." KG added on.

Several nearby doors suddenly activated. Their progress through the Bottleship to where Madeline Bergman apparently was had been rather streamlined. All the doors previously had been closed. Adam had said that it wasn't his doing and was most likely MB's.

"It certainly seems like Samus has succeeded." Ness said. "Hey, if Adam was still in contact with her, he should know."

"All right, I'll ask him." Anthony said. "Commander Malkovich, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear Anthony." Adam replied. "What is it."

"Did Samus manage to beat MB?" Anthony asked.

"I don't know." Adam replied.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Saki asked.

"I, I can't get through to Samus!" Adam said. His calm composure had completely disappeared. "She hasn't contacted me... she may of died in that explosion."

The words suddenly hit everyone like a rock.

"Damn it! It should have been me." Adam said.

"No, she's alive, I know she is!" Anthony shouted. "She wouldn't be taken out like that!"

"Most likely she was." Adam replied. "MB had jammed the doors of sector zero shut. Even if I had full control of it, I couldn't have opened the doors. She was trapped in there."

"No way." Anthony muttered finally accepting it.

"I'm sorry, take a minute to compose yourselves, and then proceed with your mission. We can't let Samus' sacrifice be in vain." Adam said.

They just continued walking through the Bottle Ship. But they had become much slower. The news was weighing quite heavily on them.

"Damn it." Isaac said rather frustrated, pounding his fist against the wall.

"What about the trophy state?" Noah asked. "She could have been transformed into that nearly indestructible trophy."

"Key words being: nearly indestructible." Isaac said. "It's not completely invincible, and has it's own weaknesses. It can still be destroyed."

Noah just looked rather afraid. "Then that would mean..."

"Yes, we Smashers can in fact die." Lucas said.

There was just silence. "Then, in that case, I don't think Samus would want us to mope around." Alex eventually said. "She'd want us to complete the mission, and then mourn."

Everyone nodded.

"Besides, I believe in Samus." Alex said. "Time and time again she has always escaped from inescapable situations. Planets that were blowing up. Space stations. This is nothing new for her."

"You're right, kid." Anthony said, slapping Alex on the back. Alex staggered forwards a bit and just glared at Anthony for the 'kid' remark. "Samus would have done it. If anyone could escape from an inescapable room it's her."

"All we can do right now is just believe in her." Saki said. "That she escaped, and will join us!"

"Yeah!" Everyone agreed.

They continued onward through the Bottle Ship, until they made it to a large room. In the direct center was a machine.

There was also a woman with short red hair. She turned to face the Smashers. "Welcome, Smashers, and members of the Galactic Federation." The 07th Platoon had their guns ready, and aimed at her. "I am Dr. Madeline Bergman, the director of the Bottle Ship." She just hit something on her lab coat around her left breast, and a holographic ID card appeared. "I will come peacefully, and answer any questions you may have."

She just stepped forwards and held her hands up high to show that she wasn't concealing any weapons.

"Why did you surrender?" Anthony asked.

"I watched you all from the monitors." Madeline explained. "This isn't what I wanted. Everything is out of my control now, and I believe somehow it's this machine that has merged our planets together. But it's completely out of my Ing had taken over MB and I couldn't do anything."

Alex just walked forwards to the machine. It was connected to two tubes further back into the room. In one was a dark spore, it was about the size of a car. In the other was a giant chunk of phazon. Alex was just captivated by the blue glow of phazon and began to approach it.

But as he got closer, he began to feel something inside of him. A sharp pain suddenly shot through his chest. He grabbed his chest and collapsed, and began to scream in pain as pain coursed through his body.

"Master!" Zoroark was quick to rush to Alex's side and pulled him away from the phazon. The others were quick to come to his aid as well. "You're burning up!"

Alex was just gasping for air. His body had suddenly been drenched in sweat.

"What just happened?" Zoroark asked.

"I don't know." Madeline replied. "No one has every reacted like that to the phazon."

They just made their way to the wall that was the furthest away from the phazon. "Sorry, Z." Alex weakly said. "I just suddenly felt a sharp pain..."

"Let's shut down this machine and retreat." Saki said.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Like I said, we can't." Madeline replied. "I tried. But the passwords are constantly changing. I couldn't do anything. MB and the Ing probably don't want it shut off."

"Listen, this may be a strange question but why did the Ing keep you alive?" Saki asked.

"I don't know." Madeline replied. "However, if I had to guess, at the time MB still had control over them. To her, I was still her mother, and she still wanted to protect me."

"So this is the chaos seed and the phazon that was mentioned in the logs?" Isaac asked.

"The same ones." Madeline replied.

"Master Hand, what are your thoughts?" Hayden asked. From his wrist came a hologram, of Master Hand, everyone just gathered around.

"What's this?" Reyn said confused. "A picture of a glove?"

"It's Master Hand." Roy replied. "The leader of the Smashers."

"Well," Master Hand sighed. "It seems that the chaos seed is responsible for the worlds being fused. It's warping time and space, however, I don't know how you can destroy it. If you pierce it, it might explode, and you really can't have that... And in it's current form you can't transport it anywhere. It's far too large."

"And it's ingrained in this room." Alex said.

Everyone just looked at Alex a bit shocked. "What?" Shulk said.

"Using Aura, I can see it. It looks like it's floating in that tube, but... there are roots that go all around this room..." Alex replied weakly. "It's also absorbing some of the phazon..."

"Master, please don't stress yourself!" Zoroark said.

Alex just weakly nodded.

"And do you have any information about Alex's current sick spell?" Saki asked.

"I have no idea." Master Hand replied. "The readings I'm getting from the suit aren't showing anything out of the ordinary. Currently it's just registering as a cold."

"You think that was a cold?" Zoroark snarled.

"I don't know." Master Hand replied. "Maybe it was an allergic reaction to the phazon? Anyways, you have to find out someway to destroy the Chaos Seed. My best guess is there should be a monster or something that is linked to the chaos seed around there. You'd have to face it, and kill it."

"A monster?" Ness asked.

"A guardian." Master Hand replied. "The Chaos Seed is defenseless by itself. Yet as a sentient thing, it would bond to something nearby and make it protect it."

"The queen Metroid." Alex weakly said.

Everyone looked at him. "What?"

"The Queen Metroid, it was in this room originally..." Alex explained. "Or rather in the next room over there." He just pointed to some giant metal doors.

"So we just have to kill the queen Metroid..." Ness said. "All right, that sounds easy enough."

"It sounds like you know what to do, I'll leave everything to you." Master Hand said. The hologram then disappeared.

Madeline just looked at the Smashers, the 07th Platoon, and the group from Bionis. "If your going to fight. I think I better stand back." They nodded. "I can look after him as well."

"I'm fine." Alex said, struggling to get back up.

However Isaac just swiftly punched him in the stomach, causing him to fall onto the ground. "Sorry." Isaac said. "But you promised us that you weren't going to fight if you were sick. Zoroark, take him away along with Madaline, and watch over her to make sure she doesn't do anything funny. Everyone else, we've got to defeat whatever the Chaos Seed has bonded with."

Zoroark and Madeline carried Alex away into the previous rooms. Once they were gone and those doors were closed, they focused their attention on the other room. The room where the queen Metroid was being kept. They just approached the doors and it slowly opened, revealing, absolutely nothing.

They just walked inside to see hundreds and hundreds of eggs across the room. Green and black roots seemed to be embedded with the eggs. "What is this?" Shulk asked.

"Metroid eggs." Hayden replied.

They suddenly began to crack and open. The 07th Platoon wasted no time in firing their freeze guns and quickly trying to kill them. However, it quickly became clear that they weren't able to damage all of them. Ness and Lucas unleashed psychic attacks. However beyond PK Freeze, they did next to nothing. Roy tried to stab them with his sword, however he found that he had to stab them in the nuclei, and cause an explosion, or else they were quickly recover.

The group from Bionis were also finding their weapons ineffective. "Retreat!" Shulk ordered.

They quickly made it back into the other room, however the Metroids began to follow them.

They tried to deal with them, however they were severely outnumbered. A Metroid floated over to the chaos seed and began to absorb it. All other Metroids just quickly surrounded the Chaos Seed and the Phazon, absorbing it and acting like a shied.

Hayden and Noah just began to shoot. However, from the walls rushed the Swarm and Ing creating a solid wall to block the shots. Reforming in front of them was a facsimile of James.

"James?" Anthony said.

"Sorry, but I couldn't let you attempt to kill the Metroids." James said. "What's happening now behind that wall, is that all of the Metroids are absorbing the chaos energy and the phazon, merging together with everything else, and allowing for a new mutation."

"Oh yeah!" Shulk shouted. "Well you won't stand in our way!"

He ran towards James, however James just raised his hand, and suddenly everyone was unable to move. They were being pushed down by an invisible force. "When I left you, I went to all the creatures of the ship, to absorb their powers. The creature in control of the Gravity on the ship was one of them. Besides, I can't allow you to attack the Chaos Seed. There is no telling what could happen."

The 07th Platoon activated something in their armor, and were suddenly able to move. They rushed for James. Anthony just fired the plasma cannon at James. However before it even hit him, it suddenly vanished.

"What the?" Anthony said rather surprised.

"Don't be shocked." James laughed. "The Metroids are absorbing everything. Including all the energy in this room. The Chaos Seed's roots extend everywhere. I think it's time I gain what I came here for!"

The Swarm began to disperse, and then reform. In the middle of the room there was now a giant black egg that appeared to be made out of metal.

"What the?!" Reyn said rather shocked. "It's just like those Arachno eggs."

"The ones in Tephra Cave?" Shulk questioned.

"What were those like?" Riki asked.

"They had Mechon parts inside of it." Shulk replied.

"Well if it's just a Mechon shell, the Monado should be able to cut through it!" Dunban said.

Shulk just nodded and walked forwards. He swung the Monado, however the attack did nothing. "What's going on?!" Shulk said rather shocked. He tried to cut through it a few more times but nothing happened.

"Could that egg also be absorbing energy?" Hayden wondered. "As soon as you struck it, it may of absorbed the energy."

"So, we have to wait for it to hatch?" Dunban said. "Or do we..." he just ran forwards and cut through it with his Anti Mechon sword. It revealed a small crack where the Metroid Larva was vulnerable. The 07th Platoon just fired some shots from their freeze guns into the crack.

The ice inside expanded, causing more of the egg to crack. The shell began to fall off, and out floated a Metroid. It was much larger than the ones that had fought earlier.

"What the?!" Hayden said shocked. "It's just like the one at the end of Super Metroid."

Inside the Metroid they could see the Dark Spore, and the shard of phazon. Suddenly the Metroid began to let out a scream of pain, and it began to rapidly evolve. From the larva state to Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Zeta, and then Omega. The bipedal beast roared out at everyone. It was about twice their size and covered from head to toe in black mechon armor.

Shulk rushed forwards and tried to cut the armor, however much like the egg, the Monado wasn't doing any damage. Dunban quickly followed suit and cut part of the armor off on it's chest.

"It seems like the Monado is useless because of the energy absorbing properties of the Metroid." Hayden said.

"But if the Monado is useless..." Shulk said a bit shocked.

"Don't worry about it too much." Reyn said. "That's why we're here. To help cover you if you get in over your head. Besides, there's more than one way to beat a Mechon."

Shulk just nodded. "Right! All right! Engage the enemy!" He swung the Monado and an aura covered everyone. "This will allow you to cut through Mechon Armor!"

Roy was the first to run forwards towards the Omega Metroid. He quickly dodged a swing from the arm, and jumped up into the air, to slash at the Omega Metroid's chest. It left a rather noticeable mark on the armor. Ness followed up with rushing in there and swinging his baseball bat right at it's legs. Reyn supported Ness and together the two caused the Omega Metroid to fall on the ground.

Saki and Isaac just ran towards it. Saki's arm transformed into that of a monster and he slashed at it with his claws. While Isaac swung his sword. Together they were able to force off a piece of armor on the chest, leaving what looked like a sac exposed.

The Omega Metroid got back up, and roared.

Maurice, Lyle, and KG just began to fire at the chest of the Omega Metroid with their ice guns. However it swiped it's long claws knocking them away, and leaving rather noticeable gashes on the armor.

"PK Thunder!" Ness and Lucas shouted out, directing the electricity right to the creature. However it just seemed to immediately absorb it

Melia just looked around a bit shocked. "I don't know how, or why, but I'm feeling a lot more ether in here now."

"Same." Shulk said. "Well then, why don't we try what we did with the Telethia. Give it so much energy it explodes."

"Sounds like a good idea to me!" Dunban said.

"All right, count me in!" Noah said, holding his blaster.

"Same." Hayden added on.

"I'll do my best to cover you guys!" Reyn said.

They nodded. "All right." Anthony laughed. "Here we go!" He fired the plasma cannon, hitting the Omega Metroid right in the chest.

Melia let out a constant beam of ether. While Shulk was swinging the Monado, also causing a stream of ether to go right into the chest of the monster.

"PK Starstorm!" Both Ness and Lucas shouted, causing giant comets of energy to go and hit the chest of the beast. Saki was firing his Cannon Sword at it. While Isaac was sending a stream of Psynergy towards it.

The Omega Metroid had no choice but to absorb all of the energy. As it was absorbing the energy it was getting bigger and bigger. However the Mechon armor was trapping it, and crushing it. It just began to screech out in pain.

Roy just ran forwards and jumped into the air, cutting off one of the Omega Metroid's arms, before stabbing the Sword of Seals right through the Omega Metroid. The magic sword began to burn with an intense fire, frying the insides of the Omega Metroid.

Reyn, Dunban and Riki rushed forwards, knocking the creature's legs, toppling it to the ground once more where it just began to writhe in pain, and it eventually stopped moving. Roy just pulled out the Sword of Seals and walked away.

The Omega Metroid lay on the ground defeated. Just letting out some cries of pain. However it began to pulse with energy. It glowed that eerie blue light of phazon. From the walls of the bottle ship Ing appeared and began to approach the Omega Metroid.

"Try and take out the Ing!" Hayden ordered. He began to shoot at the Ing, and the others followed suit. Cutting through the various Ing. However they soon realized that they just became some dark gasous, liquid, and immediately went towards the downed Omega Metroid, and they went into it.

The end result was both healing it, and making it evolve into something different.

The arm that Roy had cut off had regenerated. The Mechon Armor that was around it, had gone inside it's body, and now surrounded it's vulnerable nuclei. It's body was now completely covered in a black exoskeleton, and a black aura was radiating off of it.

"It's absorbed the Ing..." Hayden said. "It's gotten much stronger."

Several tentacles shot out of the Omega Metroid.

Shulk just launched another wave of Ether at the Omega Metroid. "Monado Purge!" He shouted. The Ing were being forced out. Hayden, Noah, Sharla, Maurice, Lyle, and KG quickly shot at the Ing that were forced out of the body. Much to their surprise with a single hit, they were instantly destroyed.

Melia forced more ether into the Omega Metroid, causing it to get bigger. "I've forced all the water ether I can into it right now." Melia said.

"Okay, I understand!" Lucas replied. "PK Freeze!" the snowflake rushed for the Omega Metroid, and upon contact it immediately froze.

Sharla, Hayden, Noah, Maurice, Lyle, KG, and Anthony just fired explosive rounds at it. Upon contact, It caused the frozen Omega Metroid to shatter. They continued until next to nothing was left. Only a fine powdered snow, and the nuclei that was still protected by the Mechon armor.

Shulk just swung the Monado, covering Roy's Sword of Seals with an Aura. He just walked over to the mechon armor and stabbed through it, and followed up with an explosion. After he pulled out the sword of seals, a blue liquids began to flow out of the hole.

"It's over." Roy said, walking away.

"No, not yet." Isaac said. "Where's the chaos seed?"

Everyone paused and looked back at the mechon shell that had been around the nuclei. The blue liquid seemed to be corroding it. As it was melted away, it revealed the black seed inside. It was much smaller, about the size of a golf ball. It just began to float up into the air, and radiate a certain darkness.

The doors opened, and in walked Alex, Zoroark and Madaline. "You managed to beat it." Alex said.

"Yeah, it was no problem." Hayden laughed. "Are you fine now?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better." Alex replied. "I don't know what happened there. Maybe it was an allergic reaction to phazon..." Alex just paused and looked at the snow and the blue liquid. "I can sense you. You're still here..."

Everyone else quickly turned to face the remains of the Omega Metroid.

"I'm quite impressed Smashers." A voice said. Suddenly the bits of the blue liquid, and the ice all came together to from the facsimile of James once more. "You managed to beat it. Take your prize, the chaos seed! Until we meet again."

The facsimile of James just broke apart into the swarm and flew away.

Everyone just looked a bit shocked. And they approached the Chaos Seed. It just floated there.

"Master Hand." Hayden said, reactivating the hologram. "What should we do now?"

"Don't touch it." Master Hand replied.

Everyone just looked a bit shocked at Master Hand. "But how are we supposed to take it away." Noah asked.

"Isaac, can you use Psynergy to move it." Master Hand asked.

"That shouldn't be a problem." Isaac replied. "But, can I ask why?"

"The Chaos seeds are dangerous." Master Hand replied. "Unless Order and Chaos are completely balanced within you, you can't touch the seeds. At least while it's active."

"It's dormant now." Alex said.

"Are you sure?" Master Hand wondered.

Alex just nodded. "It's not radiating any aura."

"Well in that case..." Noah just grabbed the seed, and suddenly everything began to shake.

"What on Bionis is happening?" Reyn asked.

"This is bad..." Master Hand suddenly announced. "The Bottle Ship is beginning to return back to it's dimension. If you weren't in the Bottle Ship when it got here, you need to get out now! Otherwise you're going to get stuck going back with it!"

"What?!"

"If my calculations are correct, you have 10 minutes to get out of there!" Master Hand said.

"All right, let's go!" Alex shouted.

However the door suddenly closed, and the ceiling of the room was torn open. Into the room descended a Mechon. The same one that MB had been making. "You're not going anywhere."

"Oh no." Alex gasped. "I forgot about that."

"Another thing?!" Reyn said surprised.

"I was hoping that the Metroid would have killed all of you." MB's voice said coming from the Mechon. "But it appears that you were capable of destroying it, without Samus. Perhaps you're actually threats after all. Very well then, I will eliminate you all."

However they heard more sounds of metal being torn open. Above them descended a giant purple dragon that just glared at the Mechon.

"No way!" Alex said rather surprised, staring at all of the spikes on it. "Avalanche Abaasy."

"You are in my way." MB said, just opening fire upon it. However, Avalanche Abaasy just swung it's tail and it tore through the mechon. It let off a loud roar and just glared down at the Smashers.

"What is that thing?" Anthony said.

"Is it something else from in the Bottle Ship?"

"No." Alex replied. "It's actually from the Bionis. This is bad."

"Why?" Saki asked.

"Because that's Avalance Abassy." Alex replied. "The strongest creature in Xenobalde."

**Time remaining to escape the Bottle Ship: 9 Minutes**

* * *

Deep in space, MB was floating around. She was unable to move her body. The protective shell that the Ing had made had been mostly destroyed in the blast.

What was left had been chipped away, and was slowly falling apart. She was just laughing to herself. "And in the end, you decided to Vaporize yourself, Samus... Smashers sure are weird... One down..."

* * *

In the Underworld, Magnus had just woken up. He looked around the cave that they had called their base and then glanced over at Dark Pit and Phosphora. Dark Pit was sitting in front of something and chanting something in a language he didn't understand. Phosphora was just sitting down and leaning against the cave's wall.

"You're up, human?" Phosphora said. "Being mortal must be such an inconvenience. You must waste half of your life sleeping."

Magnus however just ignored her comments. "What's he doing?"

"Preparations." Phosphora replied. "My guess is he's preparing spells."

"You understand anything he's saying?" Magnus wondered.

"Not a word." Phosphora replied. "He's speaking in angelic tongues."

"And aren't you an angel?"

"I'm more of a nature spirit." Phosphora replied. "We're different, but I guess you wouldn't understand."

"Not really." Magnus replied. "Don't really care either. Gods, angels, spirits, demons. They're just all the same to me. Any idea when he will be done?"

"A lot sooner if you both shut up and let me concentrate." Dark Pit snapped.

"Yeah fine." Magnus replied, leaning back and relaxing. They only sound in the cave beside Dark Pit's chanting was the odd drop of water, and the howling wind from outside.

"All right, finally done." Dark Pit laughed. He got up and just looked at Magnus and Phosphora. "Thanks for coming this far with me."

"Hey, you paid me." Magnus replied.

"I know. It's just, we're fighting one of the strongest Gods there is. And one where the worst thing he can do to you isn't killing you." Dark Pit said. "Against Hades, your death would just be the beginning of eternal torment. So, if you're getting cold feet now, I understand, and I won't hold it against you if you leave."

"At this point, why would we leave?" Magnus asked. "Besides, I seem to remember you're the one with the underworld key."

Dark Pit just pulled the chest out of his toga and placed it on the ground. "If you want it, I'd undo the seal right now and give it to you. Just on the condition that you destroy it as soon as you get out and lock the underworld again from the outside."

"But you'd be trapped in here." Magnus said.

"That's something I'm willing to accept." Dark Pit replied. "And to be honest, something I've been planning since the beginning. Even if I had to destroy the underworld key myself."

"Look, I accepted this job, and I'm going to see it through." Magnus said.

"And I'm staying too." Phosphora replied. "We've been through too much already, and you're not ditching me. Besides, I want to see the look on Hades' face when we beat him down."

Dark Pit looked rather grimly to the ground. "If."

"Hey, think positive." Magnus said, giving a rather big slap on the back.

"Unfortunately I'm not Pit." Dark Pit replied. "I'm not like him, I can't always think positive. And in my head, I've been replaying the worst case scenario. When Pit took him on he had the help of 4 different Gods, and only then did he win, and only barely. And as we now know, it only weakened Hades to the point where he didn't have a physical body."

"Listen, it's too late for us to back out now." Magnus said. "We knew going into this it would most likely be a suicide mission."

"Then why did you do this?" Dark Pit asked.

"Because, we have things we want to defend to." Phosphora replied. "I'm not here just because Viridi ordered me to watch over you."

Dark Pit just nodded. "I see, thanks. So no matter what happens we're in this together." He reached into his toga and pulled out a scroll. "I've prepared 13 angelic artes. The first 12 are safe... But if I am forced to use the 13th, I need you two to get out of there as fast as possible."

"Why?" Magnus asked.

"It's an absolute last resort, and one that I'm not fully sure what will happen towards the end of it." Dark Pit replied. "It's a forbidden angelic arte. It is said to give an angel the power of a God, but at a great cost. It will most likely cost me my life."

"Well then, it's our job to make sure it doesn't come down to that." Magnus replied.

Dark Pit just smiled. "Thanks." He said. "But this is Hades."

"Besides, your not the only one with a trick or two up their sleeves." Magnus laughed.

"I didn't come here empty handed either." Phosphora laughed. "We'll take on Hades together, and somehow we'll win."

Dark Pit just nodded. They got out of the cave, and began to walk towards Hades' castle. But much to their shock, there were no guards.

The three just rushed through the front gate. "This is just getting more and more suspicious." Phosphora said.

"It wasn't before?" Magnus muttered.

"You're right, let's retreat." Dark Pit said. However as soon as those words exited his mouth, the front gate closed. The three of them just let off a sigh. "Well, looks like we're going forwards."

They just began to walk through the castle, not once meeting an underworld army member or a guard. And then, they came across Hades, who was just sitting on a throne, and smiling. He just stood up and stretched out his arms.

"I'm sorry, but your Lord of the Underworld is in another castle." Hades taunted.

"Can it Hades!" Dark Pit said.

"As usual you're all so serious, you need to lighten up, and joke around once and a while." Hades said.

"We're not here to joke around." Dark Pit said.

Hades just let off a heavy sigh. "Fine, fine. Welcome, my three esteemed guests! What brings you here?"

Dark Pit just pulled out his silver bow and charged an arrow. "All right, let's just kill him, and get out of here!" Dark Pit said. He fired an arrow, however Hades just swatted it away. Phosphora sent several bolts of lightning towards Hades who just used his cape to block them. Magnus rushed right for him and swung his giant sword, however Hades just caught the sword with his bare hand.

"Fools, thinking that they could kill a God." Hades laughed. "It amused me far too much and I wanted to see it for myself..."

"So, you noticed that we entered the underworld." Phosphora said.

"Of course I noticed." Hades laughed. "I wanted the underworld key. But I didn't want to damage it, otherwise you wouldn't have made it here alive."

"Are you sure about that?" Magnus asked, swinging his sword once again. This time Hades just jumped back to avoid it. He looked at them rather bored.

"Look do we really have to fight, can we just skip to the part where I beat you all, and you all either die, or there is some divine intervention from Viridi, or Palutena to save you or you escape somehow." Hades sighed.

"Who said we were going to lose!" Dark Pit shouted, reaching for a weapon gem and summoning his Dark Pit Staff. He shot the attack towards Hades, and it hit, causing the lord of the underworld to stagger backwards.

"I just wanted to do this the easy way." Hades sighed. "No matter how you look at it, the three of you are just side characters, you're not main characters, and you would never be able to stand a chance against me, the big bad. I mean look at you, we have a clone, a weak and mortal human, and one of Viridi's guard dogs, and the worst she can do is give me a static shock."

They just glared at Hades.

"You know a simple static shock to the heart can kill someone." Phosphora retorted.

Hades just sighed. "A mortal maybe, but once again, I'm a God, and you guys can't even bore me to death."

"Why don't you try saying that after we kick your ass!" Dark Pit shouted. Several more arrows rushed towards Hades. Hades just stood there, and let them hit him. A few seconds later they just faded away.

"Oh come on, Pitty Pat was able to do at least a bit more than that." Hades said.

"He was?" Dark Pit laughed. "Well then, why don't you eat this!"

Dark Pit fired another arrow. This time, it hit and pierced right through Hades. Hades just brought his hand up to the wound and felt it. "Really?" He sighed. "Fine. I'll fight you seriously. But you're not going to like this."

"Good, that's just what we wanted!" Magnus laughed. He ran forwards and swung his sword, however Hades just caught it with his bare hand.

Hades just looked a bit surprised at Magnus and pushed him back. "Human, in your haste to rush towards your own death, you tried to strike me with the blunt side of your sword."

Magnus just had a smile across his face.

Phosphora just created several lightning bolts that rushed right for Hades. He just blocked the attack with his cape, and returned several energy attacks back towards her.

"Angelic Arte One!" Dark Pit said. "Hundred Arrows!" A hundred arrows suddenly rushed for Hades. He just quickly crossed his arms to block the attack. However, he was still brought down to his knee. He looked at them in shock. He tried to move, however soon found his whole body wasn't listening to him.

"This isn't the Angelic Artes..." Hades said rather surprised.

"Sorry, but I put my own little spin on it." Dark Pit replied. "I knew the normal ones wouldn't stand up to you, so I improved them a bit."

"A bit?"

"An Angelic Arte's power is drawn from two things." Dark Pit said. "The first, is the incantation."

"But you didn't have an incantation." Hades pointed out.

"I prepared for it before we fought you. I said all of the incantations as we were approaching you, and then writing it down on scrolls to use for later." Dark Pit replied.

"That still doesn't explain why I suddenly can't move." Hades said.

"The other thing that Angelic Artes can be affected by, or even all forms of magic, are the tools that are used when transcribing spells." Dark Pit said. "In this case, I used ink made by Viridi herself. It's infused with a venom from a plant that can paralyze a God! The scroll itself was made out of paper made from a holy plant, along with wood . This is your fault Hades for underestimating us side characters!"

Phosphora just laughed. She floated up into the air, and pulled off her scarf. "This is the end Hades!" she said, gathering electricity that was stored in it, and creating a spear made of lightning. She threw it, and it pierced his heart, causing him to fall down dead.

His body remained unmoving for a few minutes. They didn't let down their guard, half expecting him to revive.

"Only one Angelic Arte." Dark Pit said rather surprised. "I don't know if I should be happy or..."

He just turned to face Hades' corpse. He could feel a dark power coming from it, and it began to stand up. The hole where he was pierced by the lightning spear had healed. "Your alive?!" Phosphora said shocked.

"I survived having my body, including my heart, vaporized. Do you really think something like that is going to stop me for more than a few minutes?" Hades sighed. "I mean I even lived without my heart for a while too."

"To be honest, I'm surprised someone like you even has a heart." Phosphora laughed.

"Maybe you should ask Pit, he saw it once, and he thought it was very cute." Hades replied.

Dark Pit just shivered in disgust. "Let's just get this over with. Angelic Arte Two!"

A giant explosion suddenly engulfed Hades. However when the attack ended, he barely even had singe marks. "Was that supposed to hurt?" He questioned.

"No." Dark Pit replied. "The least it was supposed to do was distract you!"

Magnus had gotten behind Hades and swung his sword down hitting Hades in the back of the head with the club. Hades staggered forwards and just turned to face Magnus. "Should you really be doing that?" Magnus questioned.

The next thing Hades knew he was blasted with several lightning bolts from Phosphora. Hades quickly moved so that all thee of them were in his line of sight. Although that line was extremely blurry. The hit from Magnus had affected Hades a lot more than he wanted to show. He was losing his vision, and the ability to focus. "_No, it couldn't just be from that hit..._" Hades thought. "_There must of been another poison or something in the arrows..._"

Dark Pit quickly caught on that Hades was hiding his current condition. "Angelic Arte Three! Mega Laser!"

A beam of energy suddenly rushed towards Hades. He just blocked the attack, and deflected it, sending it through a few walls of his castle. Where the Mega Laser had hit, he was now numb. "_With all of the remaining Angelic Artes that Dark Pit has prepared, I must assume that they will all have hidden effects._" Hades thought.

"So, you've really come here to kill me." Hades said.

"I thought we made ourselves very clear." Dark Pit replied. "Or are you that thick even with omnipotence?"

Hades didn't appreciate that crack. He just raised his hand ready to send an attack at Dark Pit but suddenly found his powers sealed. "What!?"

"I didn't say it, but Angelic Arte Four." Dark Pit replied.

Hades just glared at him. Phosphora rushed up towards Hades, she had transformed into lightning and began to rapidly strike him, faster than he could react. He just staggered forwards, where Magnus was waiting and swung his sword once again, hitting Hades' in multiple spots. Just bringing the mighty god down to his knees. He looked absolutely furious.

"You three..." He muttered. "Have just made a giant mistake!" He shouted out in rage, and his power swelled, enough to break the seal that Dark Pit had placed on him.

Dark Pit looked rather surprised and just began rapidly firing at him with his silver bow. Each of the arrows hit, but didn't seem to actually do anything.

Hades just rushed towards Magnus and swung his arm down to punch at the human. Magnus however blocked with his sword. Hades just laughed, thinking that the human's tool was fragile and would break like a twig, however he was shocked when the sword remained in one piece. "Sorry, it's not breaking." Magnus replied, swinging the sword, with enough force to send Hades sliding across the ground.

His hand reached for where Magnus had hit, even though it was with the blunt end, Hades felt that it would bruise. "How could a mere mortal harm me?" Hades muttered.

"What's wrong?" Dark Pit taunted. "Are we not turning into the 'side characters' you thought we were? Could it be we are actually a legitimate threat?"

"To me, impossible." Hades laughed.

"How long will it take you to realize that we pose a threat to you?" Phosphora asked. "Or are you just going to stay in denial?"

"Maybe when you cause substantial damage to me." Hades replied.

"Pretty big talk from someone who hasn't even hurt us yet." Magnus replied.

"And yet, I've brushed off all of your so called attacks so far." Hades said.

"Someone seems to be forgetting who was out cold for several minutes after getting a hole blown in their chest." Phosphora said.

Hades just sighed. "Honestly, I was hoping if I played dead you'd just leave. You really aren't worth the time or effort."

"Want to say that again?" Phospohra said annoyed.

"You really aren't worth the time or effort." Hades said.

Phosphora's hand was covered with lightning and she just ran for Hades. She disappeared, becoming lightning itself and just began to rapidly strike at him, with great speed and ferocity. Cuts began to appear across Hades' body, and blood began to trickle out.

"Is that all?" Hades asked rather bored, as the wounds began to heal.

Phosphora just glared at him.

"Look, what can you possibly do against me?" Hades asked. "I told you I lived without my heart previously. You can't kill me."

Hades was hit with the blunt end of Magnus' sword once again. "Yeah, so what?" He asked. "Even if we can't kill you, we can still beat you. Sorry, but I didn't come all this way to just walk away because my opponent can't be killed. The only way we're leaving is if one of us dies."

"That can be arranged, human!" Hades rushed forwards, ready to strike Magnus, however Magnus countered by bashing him away with his sword.

Hades just staggered back. He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. Phosphora just began to walk towards him. In her hands was a knife, it was just covered in electricity and she suddenly disappeared.

The next thing Hades knew was that a portion of his arm had been cut off. His left arm at the wrist, had been completely cut by the knife. However much to everyone's shock, Hades wasn't outraged. He simply reached down, grabbed his cut off hand and reattached it. After a few seconds he was able to move it again.

"See, don't you get it?" Hades said rather bored. "You can't beat me."

"Well, what about if I do this!" Phosphora said. The next second she disappeared, and had beheaded Hades.

His head rolled around across the ground. And much to their shock, his body acted independently and picked up the head and reattached it. "You can't win." Hades calmly said.

Magnus just looked a bit shocked at this. "Damn it, anytime I cut off something's head, it normally stays dead."

"Well, why don't you do it then, since you're apparently so much better than me." Phosphora said rather annoyed.

Magnus just focused his attention on Hades. "Maybe, but tell me did you notice something weird just now?"

"You mean bedsides reattaching lost limbs?" Phosphora said a bit annoyed.

"Yeah, something besides that." Magnus replied. "Gods don't bleed, right?"

"Honestly, I don't know." Dark Pit replied.

"Sorry, we have to keep it rated E10+ you know." Hades replied.

"What is he talking about?" Magnus asked.

"No idea." Dark Pit replied.

Magnus just stared at Hades. "But something just feels really off about this. And I don't like it."

Magnus rushed towards Hades, and swung his sword once again. This time the God managed to block the attack with his hands. Although, it looked like stopping the sword did some damage to Hades' arms.

There was a cracking sound. And Hades' arms fell to his side and just hung there limply. There were more disgusting cracking sounds, and he suddenly could move them again. He just looked at the three of them. "How troublesome..."

"Trust me, it's only going to get a lot worst!" Magnus said. He swung his sword once again, however Hades blocked the attack with his bare hands. This time, the attack didn't do anything.

"I grow bored of this battle..." Hades muttered. "And I wanted to go meet with my brother today..."

"Your brother?" Dark Pit said.

"Poseidon." Hades replied. "Ah well. I guess I just need to take out the trash before that happens."

Hades rushed towards Dark Pit, however Phosphora appeared in front of him and created a giant ball made out of electricity. She threw it towards him and he tried to swat it away, however as soon as it touched him, the electricity flowed through through him, stunning him.

"Angelic Arte Five!" Dark Pit shouted.

Meteors began to come through the wall of the castle, and flew right at Hades. He was unable to block as the attacks began to rapidly buffet against him.

Around Dark Pit, Phosphora, and Magnus there was a barrier. If a Meteor went towards them, it was immediately reflected.

After the attack ended, Hades just stood there and looked annoyed. He looked around at all of the damage that had been done to his castle.

"Do you have any idea how long it will take to clean this up?" Hades said rather annoyed. "Maybe I'll take your souls and make the three of you my maids for all eternity."

"I'd like to see you try." Dark Pit laughed.

Hades just laughed. "Very well then. Prepare to die!"

He rushed towards Dark Pit once again.

"Angelic Arte Six!" Dark Pit shouted. "Gungnir!"

Hades just froze. Above Dark Pit a normal looking spear appeared. It suddenly began to spin and it rushed right for Hades. He dodged, however much to his surprise the spear suddenly turned and followed his every move.

"Unfortunately for you, Gungnir never misses it's mark!" Dark Pit laughed.

Hades just stopped moving, and only dodged enough so that only his right arm was hit by the spear. Upon contact, it ripped through the arm. After it had gone through Hades it immediately disappeared. Hades just stood there a bit dumbfounded.

"You did good only letting one spot get hit." Dark Pit said.

Hades just scoffed. "Going by your previous changes to the Angelic Artes, there was probably a reason. More special plants and materials from Viridi?"

"You catch on quick." Dark Pit laughed. "For starters, the spear itself was made out of sacred and blessed objects. The most notable one that on the spear there was the engraving of a prayer that allows souls to pass on to the afterlife. Essentially just getting them away from you for the time being. The ink that I used to write this one was made with a combination of different things. But the main effects are, it melts away skin, and it slows down cell growth. The main thing is, you're not going to be able to regenerate that arm for a while."

Hades' calm demeanor had vanished. "You know, I was interested in your thirteen Angelic Artes." Hades said rather annoyed. "But it's getting to the point where my curiosity will kill me."

"If you know yourself, and know your enemy, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles." Dark Pit replied. "I know a whole lot about you from your previous battle with Pit! And you either just thought of me as a side character, or as some lesser copy of him. This is your loss Hades."

Hades just laughed. Not one of his jovial laughs, but this was a mocking laugh. "My loss? Boy, do you know who you're dealing with? I am a God!"

"Yeah, just keep saying that!" Dark Pit said. "Even Gods can fall!"

"But it will take much more to fell me!" Hades said. Suddenly a wave of energy was released from him, and it hit all of them head on.

Dark Pit, Phosphora, and Magnus were sent flying, and collided into a wall. All three of them just gasped for air. "I don't believe this, he was supposed to be weaker..." Dark Pit said, getting up and trying to aim his bow.

"I am weaker." Hades said, walking towards them. "But, I don't think Pitty Pat's rejected clone, a human, and one of Viridi's guard dogs are enough to beat me."

Magnus just held his sword. "So, you're underestimating me, eh?" Magnus laughed, standing up and walking forwards.

"A pitiful human such as yourself is no match for me." Hades replied. "You who chose to go and fight for this cause because of some cheap wine?"

Dark Pit just charged up an arrow. "So you've been watching us this whole time?" He asked.

"You should all ready know that I'm omnipotent."

Magnus just laughed. "Is that so? Well, I doubt that's the case. Otherwise you wouldn't have called me a normal human."

* * *

Magnus was just looking at the old man. He had a massive hammer, around the head of the hammer there was a fire that seemed to burn with a holy flame. He had a long white beard.

"We fought with Pit." Magnus said. "I did what you wanted me to do, why am I still here?"

"Is that any way to respond to a God?" The old man said. "Ah, well, I'll let it slide, since your fight with Palutena's chicken was good. I called you here because I wanted to see your sword." His name was Dyntos, the God of the Forge.

Magnus just held his sword out in front of him. Dyntos just took it. Despite looking like a frail old man, he just lifted it up with more ease than Magnus. "I wouldn't exactly call this a sword, more like a club... it's crude, but gets the job done. I guess it's just like it's master."

"You can cut the crap old man, I know you didn't just call me here because you wanted to see my sword." Magnus said.

Dyntos just looked at Magnus. "Despite your appearances, you're smarter than you let on. You're right, yes there was another reason I called you here. Your sword as you know it won't last much longer. It's damaged. In the fight against Pit, you really went all out. You can see the chips on it from all the battles you did. But I didn't call you here about that, either."

Magnus just looked at Dyntos rather confused. "Then why did you call me here?"

"Right now Pit is going to fight Hades, and finish this battle." Dyntos said. "I think though that this will only be the beginning."

"Are you saying that Pit is going to lose?" Magnus asked.

"No," Dyntos replied. "It's going to be the beginning of something else. Hades will be defeated here. You remember the Aurum invasion 3 years ago?"

Dyntos just looked at Magnus, waiting for a reply. "Yes."

"Maybe it's just my own bones, but they are sensing something, something bigger." Dyntos said. "You humans know about Gods, but there are creatures out there that even Gods fear. Eldritch beasts. They may be coming soon. And your sword..."

"You said it was damaged?" Magnus said.

Dyntos just nodded. "I'll reforge it. Make it even stronger than any other human weapon. And make it last."

"I see, so I get a new sword then." Magnus said.

"Indeed. Make yourself comfortable. This will take a while."

Dyntos soon began to get to work on remaking Magnus' sword. He melted the sword down, mixed in new metals. "It is as I feared." He said.

"What?" Magnus asked.

"You've killed many monsters from the underworld, their blood has seeped into the blade." Dyntos said. "Normally, such a weapon would be cursed, and you would fall under that power as well... But you resisted."

Magnus just looked at Dyntos a bit confused.

"Strange. And your union with Pit, no mater how short, has also blessed you. Interesting."

"What are you talking about?"

Dyntos just laughed. "I guess this is beyond a mere mortal such as yourself..."

"You're talking in riddles, just spell it out old man." Magnus grumbled.

"Your sword has become something very interesting." Dyntos laughed. "Something that could even slay a God."

* * *

"Before this, I was only using the blunt side of my sword." Magnus said. "Now, why don't I show you it's true power!"

Magnus just flipped the sword and ran towards Hades. He swung the sword, however Hades went to catch it just like he had previously. However upon contact, the sword immediately cut through Hades' hand.

"That dull looking thing can actually cut?!" Hades said surprised. He looked down at his remaining hand, however he was finding that it wasn't regenerating.

"Yeah, it can cut." Magnus replied. "It's been by my side and through so many battles that it's gotten some special abilities. At least according to Dyntos."

"The God of the Forge." Hades said. "Interesting..."

Magnus rushed towards Hades once again and swung the sword. This time Hades just jumped back to avoid it.

"Angelic Arte seven, eight, and nine!" Dark Pit said. Suddenly a three arrows hit Hades. The next few seconds Hades was frozen in place.

"My sight... I can't see?! What did you do?! Why can't I move my body?" Hades asked.

"Those three arrows were to paralyze you. In the event that the paralyzing didn't work, then there was one that made you blind. And Also the third one was made to completely screw up your perception of where you are, and was made with a fungus that had the properties of causing someone to be completely disoriented, and caused their body to not listen to them." Dark Pit explained. "Essentially, now the end result is you're a sitting duck for the three of us!"

"After the last ones, these are a little low key don't you think?" Hades wondered.

"Well, I figured if the flashy attacks didn't work, I'd fall back to KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid!" Dark Pit replied.

"Three more, I need to survive." Hades laughed.

"If you can survive us beating the crap out of you." Magnus said. He swung his sword and bashed Hades with it, causing him to stagger to the ground. Phosphora threw several metal rods down into the ground around Hades and sent electricity to them and through Hades.

"Angelic Arte Ten!" Dark Pit said.

A barrier appeared around Hades, trapping him inside. "You're not going to get out of this one easily." Dark Pit laughed. "The materials used for this one included a weed that was a pain even for Viridi. Once it ensnares another plant, it won't let go until that plant is dead! It squeezes and crushes trees. There's no way you're getting out of that so easily!"

Hades was clearly struggling, to get out of the barrier. "Angelic Arte 11!" Dark Pit said.

Suddenly the barrier began to shrink, crushing Hades within it. Arrows began to rush for the barrier and pierce it, also piercing the lord of the Underworld.

"And now, It's over Hades!" Dark Pit just laughed. "Angelic Arte 12!"

A circle just appeared around Hades, and a beam of constant energy came raining down upon Hades. He couldn't move his body, and could only watch as what was left began to disintegrate and be vaporized by the constant rain of energy. When it ended, the only parts of his body that remained were his chest and head.

"It's over." Dark Pit said. "You'll just be a disembodied spirit once again. Or at least that's what I'd say, if I didn't plan for that as well." Dark Pit pulled out a card. "Your soul will be trapped in here for all eternity! It's over!"

But from the darkness a voice said: "Damn it, Hades. This is just embarrassing, can you stop playing around?"

* * *

File 1

Do you want to save?

YES

Party: Alex, Zoroark, Saki, Isaac, Noah, Lucas, Samus, Hayden, Ness, Roy, Shulk, Reyn, Sharla, Dunban, Melia, Riki, Adam, Anthony, Red Shirt 1, Red Shirt 2, Red Shirt 3

**8 Chosen Champions Remain**

* * *

**Notes:**

**Well this is much shorter than nearly every other chapter...**

**Yes, I am fully aware that Kid Icarus is supposed to be a play on Greek Mythology, and Gungnir is from Norse Mythology.**

**I can't say I'm too happy about this chapter. The majority of my commentary and complaints about Other M were in the previous chapter, and I felt like I had nothing left. I mean I could have Samus parrot the whole thing about removing the ice weakness from metroids is pointless if you can control them in their later stages as well where they naturally gain the immunity to ice. And with the changes to the plot that I made, I really can't bring them up. So yeah "Colonel Douche who's name I don't actually know but is voiced by the same guy who did Ike's Father Commander Greil in Fire Emblem" won't appear...  
**

**Well I guess I could of done the whole thing of how it appeared that MB didn't have the three laws of robotics programmed into her...**

**Things seem way too rushed for me. But I just wanted to post something for November, and move on. I may edit this chapter again later.**

**With the announcement of Cloud, I was debating about going back into that section in chapter 8 and editing him in with the rest of the characters that Alex saw... I may or may not do that...  
**

**Until next time.  
**


	11. It gets worse

**Masked Gamer said: ****Wait, so Samus died?**

**Response: *Insert witty attempt to reference Schrödinger's cat here, only to fail and find out at Awesome Games Done Quick 2016, that this is an actual ability of Samus in Metroid Prime through a glitch, and that she can be in any spot at any time, in any loaded room***

**I didn't get this out in December... And January is almost over... Ah well. Happy New Year!**

**I still want to go back and edit a few more things in the previous chapter. So far the only thing that I've added was a few additional lines to Nugai's and Zero's encounter. I still want to go back and edit more. Also, since the last characters have been confirmed for Smash I also added in Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta to the vision scenes in chapter 8.**

**I'm not going to lie, during Bayonetta's reveal trailer there was a moment at the very beginning where I must of gone white thinking it was going to be Hades. (Focusing on Pit, Palutena saying a challenger approaches as the camera had zoomed out, and began to fly in.) But looking up some reaction videos, I wasn't alone. I wonder how much I would of had to change what I have written/plotted out.**

**Due to the game only being out in North America and Europe for less than 2 months when I post this: Spoiler warning for Chapter 5 of Xenoblade Chronicles X.**

* * *

Chapter 11: It gets worse

"Damn it, Hades. This is just embarrassing, can you stop playing around?" The cold voice said.

Dark Pit, Magnus, and Phosphora just looked for the source of the voice. In the room's shadows there was a person standing there. He was in red and black armor, that kind of looked like muscles. He was wearing a black mask that covered the entirety of his face. There was also a silver brace along the jaw line.

"How long has he been standing there?!" Dark Pit asked.

"Oh, pretty much the full fight." The figure replied. "So, are you actually doing something Hades?!"

"Oh come on Vanitas, why are you ruining my fun? I was humoring them a bit." Hades laughed.

The remains of his body was suddenly covered in blue flames, and then turned to ashes. Everyone just stared in shock. "What the hell is going on?!" Magnus was the first to say.

However a few seconds later, Hades appeared in the room, or at least an astral projection of him. Hades let off a heavy sigh. "I guess you aren't Pit's clone after all."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Dark Pit asked.

"I'm positive Pitty-Pat would have figured out he was fighting an impostor." Hades replied. "Or maybe you are his clone, and it would have been Palutena who told him. Anyways, that was just a double that I had made up to entertain you."

"What?" Dark Pit said.

"To be fair, it was the first thing he said. 'I'm sorry, but your Lord of the Underworld is in another castle.' you were just too stupid to connect the dots." Hades laughed.

"What?!" Magnus said surprised. "Why go through all that trouble?"

"I was just being cautious in the odd chance that you could beat me." Hades replied. "So I prepared that double, and watched carefully to see if you had any tricks hidden in your togas. And it looked like you did have a few. It really should have clicked in Dippy Pit, those Angelic Artes wouldn't have worked on a God that well, no matter what materials were used."

"Want to show yourself, and say that after taking them head on you coward!" Dark Pit snapped.

Hades just sighed. "'If you know yourself, and know your enemy, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.' Didn't you yourself just finish saying that? It was a completely legitimate tactic."

"Oh yeah?!" Phosphora said.

"You should be patting yourselves on the back, if that was me you were fighting, you might of actually been able to kill me, with Magnus' sword" Hades said. "Unfortunately for you, I couldn't allow any of my plans to be foiled and stopped indefinitely due to me being vaporized again. So, I decided a duplicate was the best course of action. But now that you've wasted all twelve of your prepared Angelic Artes, I guess the least I can do is kill you personally."

The astral projection suddenly became solid. Phosphora started by firing an arrow at him, however before it even hit it was deflected back at her. She quickly moved out of the way.

"No, I still have a 13th Angelic Arte that I had prepared." Dark Pit said. "And I will use it against you."

"Hades, are these people even worth your time?" Vanitas asked.

For the first time, Dark Pit focused on Vanitas. All he could sense from him was Darkness. He was a being of pure darkness. "Who is that?" Dark Pit asked. "He doesn't look like any underworld army flunky I've ever seen."

Hades just laughed. "Ah yes, you see, as the Lord of the Underworld, I do get some rather unique perks beyond a good dental plan, that are of a great use to me."

"Wait, you don't mean!?" Dark Pit suddenly shouted out surprised.

"It seems that our little goth has figured it out." Hades laughed. "Congratulations, you get a star. Yes, every person who dies, I get to see them, and witness what type of person they were. Vanitas here was no exception. I can create bodies for them. I just simply ask if they would like to return to life, their only condition is serving under me!"

"Hades!" Dark Pit snapped. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?! The balance of souls has yet to actually correct itself from the last war you started!"

Hades just yawned rather bored. "And?"

"What?"

"And what's your point?" Hades replied. "Of course I know what I'm doing. And I don't care about this so called balance."

Dark Pit was just seething with rage. "Why?!" He shouted.

"Yawn, what's all the racket." A voice said. A new person had walked into the ruined throne room. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

"Sorry, Chara." Hades said. "I was just about to dispose of some guests."

Dark Pit just stared at Chara, like Vanitas, he was radiating something. This time it was pure hatered. He looked like a kid, about 12 years old, with brown hair, and a yellow and green striped shirt.

"Oh can I?" Chara wondered, he pulled out a knife from his pocket, and just had a twisted smile across his face.

"No, not yet." Hades replied. "These people were able to destroy my clone, I think it's fair that I take care of them myself."

"Oh. You know, I'm getting bored." Chara replied, pouting. "I really want to start cutting something..."

"What the hell?" Dark Pit muttered. "How could someone so sinister exist in a human child?"

"Oh, so you noticed." Hades said. "Well, too late. I bore of explanations, I really just want to go get some sleep. So, it looks like I've got to end this now!"

Magnus, Dark Pit, and Phosphora suddenly found themselves unable to move. The atmosphere had become suffocating and filled with Hades' malevolence. Hades stretched out his hand and suddenly a ball of energy appeared.

"Good bye!" Hades laughed.

The ball of energy rushed towards them, and there was a large explosion.

"Oh, not even their bodies probably remained after that." Chara sighed. "I was hoping I'd get to carve them up..."

Hades however was staring at the smoke that the explosion had made. "I was wondering when you'd get here." Hades said rather excited. "And it seems like Dyntos had fixed that little toy after the last time I destroyed it. Pit!"

The smoke cleared revealing a giant Mech: The Great Sacred Treasure. "Hades!"

"Pit!"

"Hades!"

"Pit!"

"Hades!"

"Pit. Oh it's been so long since we last did that." Hades laughed. "I'm almost feeling nostalgic. And it only happened, what two and a half years ago?"

"Why are you here?!" Dark Pit shouted.

"I'm here to save you." Pit replied. He just looked at Hades, and then at Chara and Vanitas. "Wait, who are they?"

"Some new lackeys that Hades has." Magnus replied. "It's been quite a while angel face."

Pit just aimed all of the Great Sacred Treasure's weapons at Hades, Vanitas and Chara.

"Hey, don't aim at me." Vanitas said, raising his arms up. "I was just observing."

"Same." Chara said. "But you can try to shoot me, but I'll just dodge it."

"It is as they say." Hades said. "They were just simply observers. It had only been them versus me this whole time."

Pit just stared at Hades. "I want to end this right now." Pit replied. "The pain and suffering that you're causing once again."

"And why don't you?" Hades taunted.

Pit just shook his head. "Because the last time we fought the Great Sacred Treasure was destroyed. I don't know how, but you're stronger than you were last time... I can sense it."

Hades chuckled. "Ah, yes, it seems like you caught on. Unlike your stupid clone."

"I don't know how or why though." Pit replied.

"Well since you came all this way, allow me to reward you." Hades said. "I've decided to expand my domain and used a chaos seed to do exactly that. Because of that, I've had a new influx of souls. I'm no longer limited to the souls of our world. Now, I've got Hyrule, The Mushroom Kingdom, you get the idea, the list goes on and on. Many other worlds are now under my domain, and with them my power increases!"

Inside the Great Sacred Treasure, Pit was clenching the controls rather tightly in frustration. "Hades, you must be stopped. The Smashers will stop at nothing to make sure you're defeated!" Pit replied.

Hades just laughed. "But Pitty Pat, what makes you think I'm going to let you escape and relay that information? This is my underworld! And all that transpires here is of my choosing!" Pit was suddenly also frozen. He couldn't move the Great Sacred treasure. Hades also began to get larger and larger.

"What the?!" Pit said rather surprised. "Why can't the Great Sacred Treasure move?!"

"Maybe the clone is just as stupid as the original." Hades sighed. "And I thought I just finished explaining it. Fine I'll go over it once again, nice and slowly. I've merged a bunch of different worlds. Increasing my domain. And with it, increasing my power. Not even Dyntos' Mech can stand against me this time!"

"Oh, so that's what happened. And here I thought I shouldn't have taken that left turn at Albuquerque." Another voice said. Walking into the room was a woman dressed in what appeared to be black leather, that was cut in such a way that it revealed a lot of skin on her hind legs. On her heels were two blue guns. She held two more blue guns in each of her hands that were covered with white gloves that went up past her elbows. She was wearing glasses, and had short black hair.

Hades was just staring at her in shock. "Who are you!?" He asked. "Walking through my domain like it's nothing? Wait a second! I can sense a demon within you as well! You've made a pact?!"

The woman just glanced at Dark Pit, ignoring Hades. "So there are angels here too?" She wondered. "Although, I have to say you're not as ugly as the other ones..."

"Answer me woman!" Hades shouted, sending his fist right for her. A purple portal appeared from behind her, and a green and purple fist rushed out and collided with Hades' fist. There was a rather loud and audible snapping sound. As Hades pulled his arm back and his hand went limp.

She just looked over at Hades. "Don't fuck with a witch."

"What's wrong Hades?" Vanitias laughed. "Seems like your plan had a bit of a hitch in it. You weren't expecting someone like this to appear. What happened to 'all that transpires here is of my choosing?'"

Chara just had a rather big smile across his face. "This will be fun. I want to cut her up!"

"Shut it both of you." Hades just glared right at her. "Who are you? Woman!"

"Now that's no way to talk to a lady." She said.

"You are really pissing me off!" Hades muttered.

She just sighed. "It looks like I'm going to have to teach you a lesson." She just aimed the two guns in her hands right at Hades and fired them. From them came out magic bullets. They hit Hades and caused him to stagger backwards.

"What the?! How could mere bullets hurt me?!" Hades said rather shocked. "Wait, Magic Bullets. I see... I've heard of monsters like you, an Umbran Witch."

"So it seems like you know of me." She said. She just rushed forward, suddenly transforming into a panther. She then jumped up into the air and from behind her, the giant fists began to rapidly come out of portals. Constantly hitting the giant God. From her back appeared a to be feathery wings. The majority of them were black, however the tips were blue.

Hades threw a punch however she seemed to dodge it, and then suddenly disappear. Hades went flying backwards after a volley of super fast attacks hit him. "What the?!" Hades said rather annoyed. "Being forced this far by a mere mortal?! Vanitas, Chara, get back."

Vanitas just created a portal of darkness and stepped through it. Chara followed. A moment later it disappeared. Just leaving Hades alone with the woman. She wasted no time in summoning a giant dragon head. It rushed for Hades who just jumped away.

"Gomorrah, the Devourer of the Divine?" Hades said. "But how our why do I know that?" Gomorrah rushed for Hades' arm, and sung it's massive fangs right into it, ripping it off. However Gomorrah had ripped off Hades' limp arm. Hades used his still good arm to grab Gomorrah's head and twist it until there was a snap. A moment later, it's body disappeared into strands of hair.

Hades' arm just regenerated, and he began to walk towards the flying umbran witch. He swung his hand that she just avoided graciously. The woman just aimed all of her guns right at Hades and began to rapidly fire.

Enough time had passed for Pit to get used to Hades' domain and he was now able to move once again. He rushed towards Hades, a long blue sword appeared in the Great Sacred Treasure's hand and he slashed Hades across the chest. Pit just quickly flew back.

"Whoever you are in there, you're pretty good." The woman said.

"Thanks, listen, I think we should get out of here." Pit quickly said. "Hades is planning something."

Energy began to surge around Hades. "Pit, I'm not going to let you escape!" He shouted. "I'll turn you all into ashes and feast upon your souls!" Hades stretched out his hand, and a sphere of energy appeared right in front of it.

Pit just fired the main cannon of the Great Sacred Treasure at the sphere of energy. It hit, and pushed it back into Hades, where it exploded, and sent Hades flying back. This gave Pit enough time to grab Magnus, Phosphora, Dark Pit and the mysterious woman with the Great Sacred Treasure. Pit quickly began to flee from the Underworld Castle. "Pit, you idiot! What are you doing!?" Dark Pit shouted frustrated. "Put me down!"

Pit however didn't comply. The Great Sacred Treasure just opened a portal and he flew through it.

Hades had just walked out of the castle and looked up at the sky. He then began to laugh as Vanitas and Chara emerged from a new portal.

"What's so funny? They got away." Vanitas said rather annoyed.

"Oh, I was just thinking how fun this was going to be." Hades replied. "Watching them struggle. All their suffering. There is so much I want to see happen! Everything has only just started! This is going to be so much fun!"

Chara had a devilish smile across his face. "I agree. I can't wait to meet them again, and then I'll get to carve them up! Their screams will be music to my ears!"

* * *

**Time remaining to escape the Bottle Ship: 9 Minutes**

The Smashers just stared at Avalanche Abaasy. They could all feel it's immense power, even as it just stood there. With each breath they could feel their skin crawl in terror. It was as though they were staring upon death itself.

Saki had gone white. "This scent... It was all over that cave we were in."

"What?" Isaac said.

"That cave must of been where it was storing food... And we ate it." Saki said. "Unfortunately for us, it's seems to be extremely territorial ."

"And whose fault was that?" Isaac shouted.

"To follow us all the way to the Bottle Ship." Alex laughed. "Well who cares if it's the strongest Super Boss in the game, let's just kick it's ass."

"Master, are you okay?" Zoroark asked.

"Honestly, I've never felt better!" Alex laughed.

However before they could do anything a giant beam of energy came down from up above. It pierced right through Avalanche Abaasy, causing it to fall down onto the ground. Dead.

Jumping down from up above was Samus. "What all did I miss?" She asked.

"Not a whole lot." Alex laughed.

"What was that?" Shulk asked.

"My ultimate attack." Samus replied. "The Zero Laser. With a little bit of a plasma beam to go right through it, it never stood a chance. With a clean shot to it's head, it was dead instantly."

"If only it was that easy in the game." Alex sighed, rather disappointed.

"Anyways, we need to escape." Hayden said.

Everyone just nodded. Somehow the door was now open, they just ran right through it..

"How did you survive?" Alex asked.

"Crystal Flash." Samus replied. "It's a very last resort thing. Basically it creates a cocoon, and then an explosion, and manages to exhaust almost all of my suit's energy but absorbs the energy from the explosion."

"And if your suit had no energy, how did you do the Zero laser?"

"You misunderstand." Samus said. "The suit get's back it's energy from the crystal flash, I just lose all my power bombs and missiles. After that Zero Laser, I'm basically running on fumes now."

"Ah, okay."

"Anyways, sorry I took so long, I had rushed to go free Adam from his room." Samus said. "He's now waiting at the Galactic Federation's ship."

They just nodded as the shaking began to get worse. They had made it up a floor, and now had seen that Avalanche Abaasy was much too big to fit through some of the hallways, and had made it's own path. The structural integrity of the Bottle Ship was no longer any good, and it was beginning to fall apart. The shaking began to get more intense.

They began to run through the hallways. Various parts of the Bottle Ship began to glow with a bright white light.

"What the?!" Reyn said rather surprised.

"It must be everything returning back to it's rightful place!" Melia surmised.

They made it back to the elevator and the they began to go back up.

As they got off of the elevator it became quite clear that the Bottle Ship wasn't holding up, and probably wasn't going to make the 9 minutes. There were piles and piles of debris that had fallen. Noah just quickly fired missiles at the piles to destroy them and clear the way, and they just continued to run down the hallways of the Bottle Ship.

It almost looked like they were in the clear, however suddenly some of the ceiling caved in, separating Alex from the rest of the group.

"Master!" Zoroark shouted.

Alex had jumped back in time so that he wasn't crushed. "I'm fine!" Alex shouted. "Listen, there's another route, I'll take that!"

Zoroark just nodded. "Understood! Get out safely Master!"

"Right!"

They ran away, and Alex just quickly turned back, rushing through the Bottle Ship. Trying to find the route. But it was collapsing. He just shot Aura Spheres towards piles of rubble, hoping that it cleared everything away. He cleared a pile, however something suddenly cut more debris down in front of him.

"A simple hello would have sufficed." Alex said rather frustrated, sending another aura sphere to destroy the fresh debris.

"You're not going anywhere." A voice said. Alex turned to see Zero standing behind him.

"I don't have time for this Zero." Alex said. "I need to escape."

"You know as well as I do, that you're trapped on this ship, and that there was only ever one route." Zero replied. "And now it's too late, you can't exit before it reenters back into it's universe. But I can save you." He just stretched out his hand for Alex to shake it. "All you would have to do is just surrender to me."

Alex just turned away. "Sorry, I'm not interested." He said. "I'll find my own way out. Maybe there's an escape pod or something..."

"Listen, I want to help you." Zero said. "Andrew has been lying to you, and using you!" Alex just froze and glanced back at Zero. "It seems that I got your attention."

"Just who exactly are you?" Alex asked.

"I am Zero, the soldier of Zenith." Zero replied.

"That's not what I mean." Alex said. "Who are you underneath that cloak! How do you know my cousin's name?"

"Come with me, and swear loyalty to Zenith and all your questions will be answered." Zero replied.

Alex just turned away. "Sorry, that's not happening."

"Even if you die here? Even if you're being used, and he's lying to you?" Zero asked.

"Even if he is, I trust him." Alex replied. "He was there for me, and supported me. If he was using me, and lying to me, I'm sure he has a good reason."

Zero just laughed. "You know nothing! He was there for you? HA! He kidnapped you and was trying to make sure all his hard work didn't die!"

Alex just flinched. "What?!" He said surprised. "No, you're lying! I remember so much! Tons and tons of family gatherings and..."

"Your memories are fake and have been fabricated. Everyone's memories had been altered so that you were always there and his beautiful little lie could continue." Zero replied. "He has that power as an Akashic Point user. You should never trust him!"

"So, I should trust you instead?" Alex said. "Sorry, but you're my enemy!"

"Am I?" Zero wondered.

Alex just looked around frustrated. "I don't have time for this!" He snapped.

"Once again, I can save you." Zero said. He just stretched out his hand. "Just trust me."

"No." Alex replied.

"Then don't. I won't ask you to trust me, just to hear me out." Zero said. "Hear my side of the story, and then make your own informed decision."

Alex just stood there. He was seething in anger. "No." Alex replied. "If you have something important to say, you can tell me right here! I'm not going with you just so you can badmouth my cousin further!"

Zero just sighed. "How unfortunate. It seems he's used his power over the Akashic Points to turn you into an obedient little puppy." He said. "He's just using you, but if you can't see that... I guess this is goodbye for now. If you survive, the next time we meet, we will be enemies. Maybe I'll be able to explain further then." However despite his calm demeanor, Alex could tell that he was upset. "So prepare yourself, I will be willing to kill you then."

A portal appeared behind him, and he walked into it. "Zero, why are you upset?" Alex asked.

Zero just glanced back for a second, however the portal closed. Alex followed up by punching at the wall. Upon impact, he let out an explosion of aura leaving a rather noticeable dent in it. He regained his breath and composure before he resumed running through the Bottle Ship, looking for an alternate exit. But talking with Zero had wasted valuable time.

"The Bottle Ship has received substantial damage. Evacuate immediately. Activating self destruct protocol. Time until self destruct 3 minutes." A message was broadcasted through the remaining speakers.

Alex just froze and closed his eyes, trying to think of another exit. "Wait, there is one!" He said, his eyes suddenly bolting open. He began to rush through the halls and got to the command center that Adam had been in. He made his way to the back of the room and began to rush through the hallways. Until eventually coming to the control bridge. In the game, Samus fought against Phantoon here. Phantoon had destroyed the room, and opened it up to the vacuum of space. But now, Alex could see Sword Valley out of the windows.

He just charged an aura sphere and threw it right at the windows, hoping to break them and escape. But there was a problem. Alex had greatly miscalculated, the glass had been tempered to withstand the harsh environment of space, and withstand any asteroids or rocks that ran into it. There was not a whole lot that he could do using aura.

Alex just collapsed onto his knees. His last window of hope had been shattered.

There was soon a bright white light that consumed everything. Alex included.

When he could see again, the windows no longer showed Sword Valley and the Mechonis looming over it outside, but now it just showed the vast expanse of space. His body began to float up into the air. "Self destruct in 1 minute. Evacuate." The distorted prerecorded message said.

He couldn't move. The only thing he was currently feeling was despair. With less than a minute left he couldn't figure out any way out of this now. If he broke the windows, he was at the mercy of the cruel vacuum of space. He wouldn't even last a minute out there.

"Self destruct in 30 seconds."

Alex just closed his eyes. He was absolutely terrified. "Damn it." He thought. "If only I had Zero's power to open up portals. I don't want to die!"

* * *

The Smashers, and the Galactic Federation crew were rushing through the hallways. Zoroark was occasionally looking back, hoping that Alex had found the alternate path and was now following them.

"Zoroark, we have to hurry!" Samus ordered.

"Right!" Zoroark said. "Master will make it. He has never failed before."

They ran through the hallways without further incident, eventually making it to the hanger. The group from Bionis and most of the Smashers rushed out of the ship. Samus just stayed behind for several seconds, to say her goodbyes with the 07th Platoon.

"Anthony."

"Save it Samus." Anthony said. "We are going to meet again!"

"Right." Samus said. "Just make sure you protect Madeline Bergman."

"Of course." Anthony replied.

The two just shook hands and went their separate ways. Samus made it over to the group from Bionis, and the Smashers.

Anthony and the rest of the 07th Platoon got onto the ship.

"We need to have our shields up for when it reenters back into it's original space!" Anthony said. "Something's telling me that the Bottle Ship is not going to last much longer after that."

As if on cue, the message blared through out the ship. "The Bottle Ship has received substantial damage. Evacuate immediately. Activating self destruct protocol. Time until self destruct 3 minutes."

Everyone just nodded. Soon a white light appeared and consumed them, sending them back to their original space.

The group from Bionis and the Smashers had to shield their eyes as the Bottle Ship had disappeared. Everyone just waited with bated breath that Alex would be there on the floor of Sword Valley, that he had safely made it out. They looked around the area. But there was nothing. There was no sign of him or any trace that the Bottle Ship was ever there.

Zoroark just looked around. "Master!?" He shouted out. "Master!?" He called out once again. He was expecting a response, but none came.

"Alex if you're here can you say something!?" Saki shouted out.

"Yeah come on!" Isaac said. He just placed his hand on the ground of sword valley and closed his eyes. "Venus Djinn help me." He said. Several Venus Djinn appeared floating around him. He just continued to concentrate. However after several minutes he stopped. "It's no use. There's too much stuff moving across the ground and through it, I can't distinguish between people or Mechon."

With each passing moment the air was getting heavier. "Master had to of made it out..." Zoroark said.

"He could still be with Anthony and the other Galactic Federation soldiers." Samus suggested. "The Bottle Ship was returning to it's original place, right? And if he found another route, he could have made it to their ship, and they would certainly help him."

"That's right..." Zoroark said. He was trying to reassure himself, however it was failing.

"We can contact them once we get back to the Smash Mansion." Samus said. "I'm sure he made it out safely."

"You're right!" Zoroark said. "Then let's finish our job here, and get back to the Smash Mansion."

The Smashers nodded in agreement. "We have finished our job." Roy said. "We separated the two places. But, I think we can at least see them to Galahad Fortress."

"That would be appreciated." Shulk said.

"We're all exhausted from that adventure." Riki chimed in. "If any Mechon show up, it will be hard to deal with them until we recover."

"Right, and maybe Master got out, and will be waiting there at Galahad Fortress, as he knows that's where you're going next." Zoroark said, suddenly optimistic. However, it only sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

Slowly they made their way through sword valley, taking out several Mechon, and a few fortresses to open the gates of Sword Valley. With every step, Zoroark just seemed to get more and more desperate looking for Alex. He ran up the walls, and tried to get a good vantage point to see down below.

"How can he have so much energy?" Reyn said.

"I think he's just as exhausted as the rest of us, it's just he's refusing to stop. The moment he stops, is the moment reality will hit him." Dunban said. "And the moment he realizes that he most likely didn't survive."

"What about the Monado?" Sharla wondered. "It's helped us find lost people in the past. Find items. It even helped you rescue my brother!"

"I can try." Shulk said.

"That would be great!" Hayden said. "At the very least it would help calm down Zoroark!"

"But..." Shulk said.

"But?" Hayden wondered.

"Ever since you got here, not once have I had a vision including you." Shulk said.

Zoroark just jumped down in front of Shulk. "Please try, for Master's sake." Zoroark begged.

Shulk just nodded. "Very well." He pulled out the Monado and closed his eyes. "Monado, guide us!" It opened up and began to glow.

* * *

There was a sea of static. All Shulk could see was a constant sea of static. "You are trying to use the Monado to see beyond it's current limits." A voice said. "But you're not yet ready."

"Who said that?" Shulk asked.

"You must find your true Monado. Only then will you be ready to help them."

* * *

Everyone just waited with bated breath. Shulk however just fell forwards and collapsed.

"Shulk!" Reyn said, catching him.

Sharla quickly got to his side and began to check up on him. After several minutes he had regained his composure.

"What did you see?" Dunban asked.

"I don't know." Shulk replied.

"Was Master there?" Zoroark asked.

Shulk just shook his head. "I'm sorry I don't know. All I could see was a sea of white."

"A sea of white?" Zoroark questioned.

"It was so fuzzy, and I couldn't focus." Shulk replied.

"Like static?" Noah wondered.

"Yes, like static." Shulk replied. "I couldn't see anything, I'm sorry."

Zoroark just nodded. "You tried. Thank you." He just began to walk away and continue his survey of the area, hoping that Alex had somehow escaped, and maybe he was tossed away by the explosion, and he was just lying across the ground unconscious.

Everyone continued onward until they eventually got to Galahad Fortress. They all just stared at the giant fortress. The front line base of the Mechon.

"Well, we're now at Galahad Fortress." Dunban said. "I guess this is where we part ways. I'm sure you want to start looking for your friend."

"Yes." Zoroark said.

"I'm sorry that we can't continue to help you further." Samus said. "Unfortunately, our presence has overstayed it's welcome."

"Riki don't mind strong Hom Homs! Strong Hom Homs can continue beating bad guys!" Riki chirped in.

"So you don't want to do any work fur-ball?" Reyn said.

"Riki is offended! We are entering Mechon Stronghold! More Hom Homs is a good thing!"

"I have to agree with Riki." Dunban said. "While having a large group may be advantageous, at least in the fighting department. However our small group of six also has advantages and we can sneak through the fortress easier."

"Frankly, I'd prefer having more firepower." Reyn said. "But, if you have to return to your place, I fully understand."

"We've interfered enough, haven't we?" Hayden said. "Our mission was to remove the Bottle Ship, and we succeeded."

"Besides, this is our battle to fight." Shulk said. "They have their own battles that they need to do. And find their ally. Besides, once our battle here is done, I have the feeling that we will meet again."

"Yeah, perhaps." Hayden said.

They said their good byes. And then Zoroark had finally rejoined the group. He looked rather distraught.

"Shulk, listen." Zoroark said. "Mumkhar will be waiting for you to battle. Be careful."

"Of course." Shulk replied. "And when you see Alex again, say hello for me."

"Right, of course." Zoroark said. "And you go save Fiora."

"Of course."

They all stepped away. "So, now that the good byes are done, how are you leaving?" Reyn asked.

"Simple." Hayden replied. He just stretched out his hand and a portal appeared. Zoroark just looked at him in shock. "With space and time no longer being bent and rather chaotic here, we can use this power. Now then let's go home."

The Smashers just nodded and walked into the portal. It just appeared to send them through a long white hallway that they continued to walk through.

"What is this place?" Zorkark asked confused.

"A portal." Hayden replied. "It acts as a door between worlds, and stuff."

"Is this your ability that your 3DS has?" Zoroark asked.

"Ah, no." Hayden sighed. "Sorry, it's nothing like this. This is just a normal ability that all the Chosen Champions have access to."

Zoroark just froze. "What?! Can you repeat that last part?"

"It's a normal ability that all the Chosen Champions have access to." Hayden replied. "Master Hand explained it to us in one of our meetings..." He suddenly realized that Alex hadn't been present during the first meeting. "We were given the ability in order to send monsters back into their own world."

"Master never said anything about this. He didn't know..." Zoroark stammered out. He was trying to mask his frustration, that Master Hand was withholding information to them.

"I thought he knew!" Noah said shocked. "Not to mention, it's kind of limited..."

"Only 10 people max can go through the portal." Hayden said. "And you can only open a portal back to the Smash Mansion, or to what game is in your 3DS."

Zoroark suddenly smiled. "Master may still be alive somehow!" He said. "Even if he didn't know about this power, he might of been able to access it. I need to get home and see what game is in his 3DS! He may be there then!"

The renewed hope had given Zoroark a new source of energy and he rushed through the long hallway, before emerging through another portal at the other end.

**World Complete!**

On the other side was the Smash Mansion and a bunch of fanfare. Many of the Smashers were there, and now cheering at a mission well done. But said cheer seemed to only further upset Zoroark. It took the Smashers a few seconds to realize that they came back with one less than they had set out with.

"Hey where's Alex?" Marco asked.

They explained the situation as best as they could. How they took the chaos seed, and the place began to fall apart, and then were separated.

"I see." Master Hand said. "Can I see the chaos seed?"

Noah pulled it out. Master Hand followed up by snapping his fingers and a chest appeared. "Please put it in the chest." Master Hand instructed. Noah did as told and just placed it in a spot in the chest. There were numerous little indentations that he figured were for the other seeds.

"What's going to happen to the seed?" Noah wondered.

"Well, if left unattended it will germinate again, and then we would have another crises." Master Hand replied. "As long as it's in this chest, it won't be able to absorb any chaos, so it will lay dormant. Still, this chaos seeds... Hades... why would he use it..."

"He must of wanted to know what would have happened." Crazy Hand suggested.

Master Hand just nodded. "That's a possibility." He said. "But I don't think it's likely. He probably knew what would happen. Especially since there are only 7 of these in the entire universe. And he holds all seven, or six now..."

"What?!" Ness said surprised. "Why would he have all the rest?"

"He just had them, no one paid any attention because the amount of chaos that the chaos seeds needed to do anything was far greater than he would be able to get through normal means." Master Hand said. "But he has access to a dimension known as the Chaos Vortex. It might be because of that, he was able to get the seeds to this stage."

Samus just nodded. "All right." She said. "Now then, let's try and see if we can figure out our next mystery. Where Alex is."

Samus went to a monitor and began to type something. Within a few minutes, it looked like a video call had been made. On the monitor a window appeared, and inside it was Anthony.

"Hey, Samus, long time no see." Anthony said. "As you can see, we made it out safely."

"That's good. And by chance, Alex wouldn't happen to be with you?" Samus asked.

Anthony looked down a bit grimly. "I'm sorry but he isn't with us."

"Then is the Bottle Ship still there?" Samus asked. "He must still be in the Bottle Ship."

There was just silence on the other end. Anthony was grimacing on screen and looking like he was trying to figure out how to word something.

"I don't know how to break this to you." Anthony said. "But, as soon as we reentered into our space, and flew out of the Bottle Ship, it exploded. Nothing's left. I'm sorry Samus, but odds are he's dead. He's not you, there's no way he could have survived that."

There was just silence.

"We can all confirm that." Maurice said. "Sorry Samus."

Samus just nodded. "I understand." She said. "When you get back to the Galactic Federation, be careful you guys."

"We will." Adam said. "Don't worry about us."

They ended the call and Samus just let off a heavy sigh.

"That's it?!" Zoroark snapped. "Just that you understand! You're not sad or anything!?"

"I've only known him for a few days." Samus bluntly replied. "I've lived and gone on countless missions where people are killed and don't return. It's sad, and unfortunate, but it's the reality of the situation. We all know we could die on a mission. My hope is for the rest of you to take this lesson to heart, and decide if you really want to be here or not."

"Samus is right." Master Hand said. "This is the harsh reality of it. Your lives will be in danger."

"Our lives will be in danger even if we don't fight." Hayden sighed. "With the monsters crossing over."

"Yes." Master Hand replied. He snapped his fingers and Hayden, Noah, and Alex's 3DS appeared. Hayden and Noah walked up to get their 3DS and Zoroark got Alex's. "But, you can walk away and live in peaceful ignorance. You can forget everything and not face the hardships that we will face. The choice is ultimately yours. I won't hold it against you if you all want to leave now and accept Alex's death as a warning."

Zoroark just scratched the wall with his claws. He looked over at Master Hand rather frustrated. "Master is still alive, I know it!" He snapped. "There's got to be some other way, we can still trace him right?"

Master Hand just floated there. "You're not going to like this." He said. He floated over to a computer and began to type. And then, on the screen, it showed a picture of earth, eventually zooming into Alex's house. Everyone just stared at the screen.

"And because he doesn't have his 3DS with him, I can't trace him." Master Hand said.

"What about the suits?" Noah asked. "Don't they have some sort of tracking?"

"The suits are still only in the prototype stage." Master Hand admitted. "They would of, but that feature hasn't been added yet due to time."

"So he's either dead, or out there, lost..." Saki said.

"What can we do?"

"Not a whole lot." Master Hand said. "I guess just hope that he is still alive and one day he shows up."

"Master is still alive." Zoroark replied.

"We can only hope." Hayden muttered.

"I'm sorry." Master Hand said. "It's best to move on and continue on wards like he has fallen."

Zoroark just glared at Master Hand. "What?!" He shouted. "You're not sorry about this! You don't care for him at all, in fact, you're glad this happened!"

"I'm not." Master Hand replied.

Zoroark just looked furious. "You wanted this!" He snapped. "You wanted this the whole time! You wanted him eliminated from the beginning, and now that he's gone, your not going to do anything!" Zoroark's claws began to glow. Lucario and Greninja were quick to get between Zoroark and Master Hand. "Get out of my way! He willingly withheld information from us!"

"Zoroark, stop, and think calmly! What is this going to accomplish?" Hayden asked.

Zoroark just looked at the humans, and then back at Master Hand and the Pokemon that were defending him. "If nothing else, it will at least allow me to blow off some steam."

Master Hand just floated there. "I'm honestly not happy about this." He said. "Because now our numbers have dwindled again. There was 10 when this expedition began, two were eliminated while you were out there. And now one has disappeared or is dead. We're down to 7. For right now I'm forbidding anyone else from eliminating another Chosen Champion."

"Oh, now you're forbidding it!?" Zoroark snapped.

Noah just looked at Zoroark. "Listen, I understand your frustration, but right now isn't the time or place. I think we should trust Alex, if he survived, he will eventually find us, or we'll find him."

"And right now we especially don't need anything else further dividing our ranks." Oren added on.

"And it gets worse." Master Hand said. "Something came up, and several of the Smashers have gone to investigate it, but we haven't heard anything from them since. That's why I'm requesting that, I'd like the Smashers to stay back here. If something comes up, you'll be able to summon them whenever you want, and I'd prefer it if you could stay here during any time you don't have any commitments."

There was silence from each of the Chosen Champions. "I have no problem staying here permanently." Lily said.

"Great, that's wonderful." Master Hand said.

"Just I wish to go home for a few things before I stay here." Lily said.

"Of course."

"We've got school." Hayden said, motioning to the others.

"I don't mind not going." Noah laughed.

"Same." Oren said.

"Unfortunately with you guys, I've been informed that I'm supposed to keep you going to school." Master Hand nervously replied.

"What?" Everyone flatly said.

Master Hand just shook his hand rather defensively. "Sorry, don't shoot the messenger."

"Geeze, the world could end, and some idiot is more concerned about us getting a proper education." Rune muttered.

"Then what about Lily?"

"I don't go to school." Lily replied.

"You're home schooled?"

"I didn't say that." Lily replied. "I don't go to school."

"She-" Zoroark began.

"Stop!" She quickly snapped, cutting off Zoroark. The Pokemon just complied.

Hayden looked around. "But if we're still going to school, and we don't have access to our Smashers, there has to be some other way to defend ourselves. Because some of our abilities are not exactly inconspicuous."

"There is something else you can do besides use your ability that I gave you for self defense." Master Hand said. "You can absorb one of the essences of the Smasher's into yourself. And you become stronger."

"So, we become one? Is it like fusion?" Rune questioned.

"I guess that is an adequate way to explain it." Master Hand said. "But it's really you just gain their powers, and experiences, and are able to use their abilities. It's just temporary, and a way to defend yourself in case anything happens. So be careful."

"Right."

"Well then, I figure that's everything, you're all dismissed."

Everyone just nodded and began to leave the room. Zoroark was the last to go, straggling behind the rest of the chosen champions. Master Hand just glanced over at Zoroark as he was leaving the room. "Zoroark, for what it's worth. I believe he's still alive."

"You're just saying that." Zoroark snarled.

"Maybe." Master Hand replied. "But the thing is, I know how cunning Nugai is, if he chose Alex as his proxy then he isn't going to kick the bucket like that. He wouldn't allow it."

Zoroark just walked out the room. "I hope you're right." He managed to say. Deep down, Zoroark was worried and doubting that Alex had survived someway. Fear was beginning to hit him, that he would never see him again. It was eating away at him so much he wasn't paying attention to the chosen champions in front of him, and he tripped over Noah and fell.

When he got back up he noticed they had all stopped in a living room. Oren was just facing Lily.

"It looks like what you said happened, happened." Oren said.

Lily just nodded.

"What did she say would happen?" Hayden asked.

"That Alex wouldn't return from this mission." Oren replied.

Zoroark's body began to tense up, everyone looked around nervously.

"And why didn't you tell him?" Zoroark sneered. "If you knew, why didn't you say anything?"

"Because, I still didn't know how it was going to happen." She replied. "All I knew was that he wouldn't come back. If I said anything, I may have greatly altered the outcome to something worse..."

"I guess that makes sense." Hayden said. "In trying to prevent disasters, you have to be careful that something even worse doesn't happen."

"And do you know if Master comes back alive?" Zoroark asked.

Lily just shuddered. "I don't know."

"You don't know?!" Zoroark snapped. "Then how did you even know that he was going to be-"

"The Morpogenetic Field." Lily replied. Zoroark just froze. "That's the best way I can explain it. I don't know how or why, but I just know things. It's like they are being put into my head from a future or alternate timeline."

"She's telling the truth." Oren said.

"How do you know? What's this Morpogenetic Field?" Rune wondered.

"It's a long explanation, but I'll believe you then if that's the case." Zororark said.

Everyone just looked in shock at Zoroark. "What really?!" Hayden said surprised. "Just like that you'll believe her?"

"Yes." Zoroark replied. "Nugai has said he was able to access it. I don't see why others couldn't. Besides what's done is done. We can't get Master back now, we can only trust that he survived and will one day return to us."

They just looked at Zoroark rather surprised.

"Yes." Lily replied. "Now then, what's next?"

"Well, since you're the only unallied chosen champion that remains, maybe it would be better for you to join us." Oren suggested.

Lily just continued to nod. "Yes, that would be for the best." She said, as she pulled out her 3DS, and everyone else did the same. One by one they just updated their friend list.

"So, Alex is the only one you're not allied with." Hayden said.

"And what about that 3DS?" Lily asked, looking at the Pikachu 3DS that was in Zoroark's hands.

"It was one of Master's spares." Zoroark replied. "His real 3DS is back at home, I can give you the number and you can give me yours and we can insert them."

"That won't work." Marco said. "Unfortunately those that the 3DS has bonded with is the only one that can only one that can add or remove friends."

"It's a safety precaution so that people don't die."

They soon split up, and just spent their time resting.

* * *

The Kid Smashers were in their tree house. All ready Ness and Lucas were constantly being pestered by them to give all the details and what happened during the mission.

"So, are you going to tell us about your adventure?!" Popo asked.

"Oh come on." Ness replied. "It wasn't that exciting. It was just a regular mission, you know?"

Toon Link just looked over at Ness. "Yeah right, you guys got to fight giant robots, and-"

"Giant killer robots." Ness corrected.

"Yeah!" Toon Link said. "Come on, tell us what happened! If you do we've got some interesting things to tell you."

"Couldn't you have watched it on the monitors?" Lucas wondered.

"We tried, but it kind of hurt our eyes." Popo sighed. "It was like you were constantly being fast forwarded. You were going in super fast motion Only Master Hand and ROB could keep up."

Ness shrugged, and eventually decided to recount the events. And soon it was over. "All right, now that interesting thing you have to tell us." Ness demanded.

Toon Link just had a big dopey smile across his face. "Well, you see, I over heard Master Hand talking to Crazy Hand. They think that the Shulk person would be a great addition to the Smashers!"

Ness and Lucas both smiled. "That's great!" Ness said.

"Yeah!" Lucas added on. "Has he mentioned anyone else?"

"No, I just heard that little bit." Toon Link sighed. "But, aw man, if he's getting new Smashers, I really want to know who else he's considering!"

"Yeah." Ness sighed. "Shulk would be great here!"

They just spent the rest of their afternoon hanging out.

* * *

Soon it was time for the Chosen Champions and Zoroark to leave and return back to their world. They were all gathered in the transporter room. Soon a portal opened and one by one they walked through it. "Zoroark wait!" Master Hand called out.

Zoroark turned around, and glanced back at Master Hand.

"Listen, all ready we have ROB searching for any sign of Alex. If I find any trace of him, I'll notify you immediately." Master Hand said.

Zoroark just nodded. "Thank you," he said as he stepped through the portal.

* * *

They had emerged in a park consisting of a rather large field, that had a baseball diamond and a small soccer pitch that kid sport groups used. There was a jungle gym along with a swing set. It was thankfully dark, and no one was around to see them. "Well, I guess this is where we all go our separate ways." Zoroark said.

"Not so fast." Hayden said. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Zoroark just looked over at them a bit confused. "What?" Zoroark wondered.

"We left all of our stuff at your house. We need to get it back." Hayden said.

Zoroark just nodded. "Well, very well then, follow me." He lead them all back towards the house.**  
**

When they got there the front door was locked. Zoroark just went into the garden and found a spare key, that was hidden inside a fake rock, and then hidden in an illusion. He just let them all in, and they soon found all their bags right where they left them in the living room. Rune pulled out a cell phone from one of his bag's pockets and just had a bit of a freak out.

"Oh no, my parents are going to kill me!" He said.

"What? Why?" Echo wondered.

Rune just showed them the screen on the phone. It was now about 1 AM Sunday morning. They all just stood around for several seconds trying to digest this information.

"What the?!" Hayden muttered.

"Could it be that the Smash Mansion runs at a slightly different time than our world does?" Marco questioned. Everyone just turned to face him a bit confused. "Like how the Bionis seemed to be constantly fast forwarding through a movie."

"That's likely." Zoroark said. "Or maybe the Smash Mansion moves at the same time, it's just a different time zone."

"Well, I don't think it's too important." Hayden laughed.

"What, you don't have parents that are going to kill you for not telling them where you are?" Rune said. "They must be worried sick about me. Oh no, mum is going to pull out all of her hair... They're going to think I've been kidnapped!"

"Then why don't you call now?" Noah suggested.

Rune just looked at his phone, he gulped at the notification of 45 missed messages. "I really don't want to. If they got to sleep they'd kill me for waking them up..."

Suddenly a house phone began to ring. "Call from Andrew." The digitized caller display said. Zoroark just walked over to it, and picked it up.

"Hello?" Zoroark said. Everyone just watched him rather nervously. "I see, I'll relay that information. Thank you, Nugai." He hung up and everyone just looked at him a bit nervous.

"What did Nugai want?" Hayden wondered.

"His exact words were 'tell anyone that's worrying about what their parents are thinking, that I've all ready taken care of it. As far as they know, their kids were just at a friend's the whole weekend.'" Everyone just seemed a bit relieved. "So, I guess that means you're all staying another night." Zoroark said.

"Wait, you don't mind us here?" Rune wondered.

"I really can't ask you all to leave now." Zoroark sighed. "I wouldn't feel comfortable that you would get to your houses safely. And if Master ever found out, he'd scold me. Besides I feel like I need the company."

"I've been wondering this for a while, but, why do you call him Master?"

"It has always been Master." Zoroark replied. "That's the way I wanted it. I'm happy for Master for taking me in, and protecting me."

"Um... did Nugai know what happened?" Echo wondered.

"If he did, he certainly wasn't letting anything on." Zoroark sighed. "Well now what..."

"You said you were going to check his 3DS." Noah pointed out.

Zoroark's eyes lit up and he ran down to the basement. The other Chosen Champions followed. Sitting there in the charging cradle was the 3DS. Zoroark just rushed towards it, opened it up, and turned it on. And then nothing. He just stared at the sterile white menu. There was the other buttons for the health and safety menu and the apps. And then the folders that contained Alex's downloaded games. But there was nothing in the cartridge slot.

"Hayden." Zoroark closed the 3DS and turned to his companion. "Can you open portals to just the game in the cartridge slot?"

"As far as I know, yes." Hayden replied. "I tried to do it to a few of the games that I had downloaded, and nothing was happening. Why?"

Zoroark just collapsed onto his knees and began to shake. He held the 3DS close to him. Despite that position, and his giant hairy paws, they could see the cartridge slot was empty. "Master..." Zoroark cried.

Everyone looked around nervously, unsure of what to do, or say. For the time being they decided to just let Zoroark be alone, and made their way upstairs. Slightly hungry, they just heated up some leftovers that were in the fridge and nervously looked around.

"Even if he knew, he had no place to escape to." Oren said. "It looks like that is the end of Alex."

"No, it can't be, not like that." Marco said.

"The only other place a portal could have opened up to was the Smash Mansion." Hayden sighed. "It's looking rather definitive."

"The only thing we can do now, is destroy his 3DS and the save state will warp him back to his previous life." Echo said. "At the very least, Zoroark and him will be reunited."

"You can't do that." Noah said.

"None of us can." Hayden sighed. "Since we all allied with him. Only Lily can destroy the 3DS, since they haven't allied."

A few minutes later Zoroark came up the stairs. "I was wondering where you all went."

"We figured you wanted to be alone." Hayden said.

Zoroark just nodded. "Thanks."

"We can get Alex back if we have Lily destroy that 3DS." Hayden said.

"What?" Zoroark said shocked. He looked at the 3DS that was in his hands and just back at them.

"When the 3DS is destroyed, it sends them back to their previous life." Hayden said. "Basically, when we all got the powers and enlisted into this fight, a save state was made of our life. Upon the destruction of the 3DS, that save state is reloaded. And while we may have died here, we wake up not knowing the wiser. Our memories and everything is wiped. And our lives just continue as though we were never apart of this. Even you could do it."

"I can get Master back?!" He said shocked. Zoroark just placed the 3DS on the counter, and his claws began to glow. He raised up his claws, however he froze. "I can't do it. If I did it, and Master was still alive, I would effectively be killing him, right? I can never bring myself to hurt Master."

"That's fair." Hayden replied.

"I'm choosing to believe in him." Zoroark said. "That he made it somehow, and is somewhere safe. And that one day, we will be reunited."

Everyone just nodded. "Can I ask why?" Hayden asked.

Zoroark nodded. "Master has never given up, and never stopped fighting. And Nugai once told me something."

* * *

Alex was making his way to the insane asylum where Nugai was currently being kept. In his arms was a small Zoura, whom Alex had instructed to act like a stuffed animal. They made it past the guards and to the visitation room.

"Hey." Nugai said.

"The egg hatched." Alex said.

"And it became a Zoura." Nugai replied. "Just like I said it would."

"I still don't know what that is..." Alex muttered.

"Well, it will eventually be revealed to you." Nugai chuckled.

They just continued talking, and soon the visitation time came to a close.

"Little Zoura." Nugai said. "Protect him when I can't be there to protect him, and believe in him no matter what, even when the world has turned against him."

"Quit it, this is embarrassing..." Alex muttered.

"They can't see or hear us." Nugai replied, as he reached up and ruffled Alex's hair.

* * *

"I won't doubt Master." Zoroark replied. "He will come back one day."

"Well, if you believe in him, then I will too." Hayden said. "I'm positive he will come back."

"Yes, but in the mean time, well let's do something else." Zoroark said. "How about some more video games tonight!"

They didn't actually get to sleep that night. The 7 of them were constantly changing games, constantly switching controllers, and for the time being just enjoying the peaceful times that they currently had.

Some time around 10AM, they all began to leave.

Zoroark just stood there on the porch watching as each of them walked away. "It's kind of nice." Zoroark laughed.

"What is?" Noah wondered.

"Well, being with friends. Forgetting about everything that happens. Just relaxing and playing games..." Zoroark laughed. "I needed it to keep my mind off of Master..."

"He's still alive, I'm positive." Noah said.

"Same." Zoroark replied."Unfortunately, I'm dead tired now."

"Yeah." Noah yawned. "This may seem like an inappropriate time to ask... but what about me? What should I do now?"

"You can still stay here." Zoroark replied. "Master would have wanted it that way."

Noah just nodded. "Thanks." He said. "But this really isn't my house, and I feel kind of weird staying here without the owner."

"Says the guy who was camping in the shed." Zoroark replied.

Noah just nervously laughed. "Well, I mean..."

"Just forget about it." Zoroark said. "Right now, it's your home."

"Thanks."

"Now then, let's just go get some sleep."

* * *

In Skyworld, a portal appeared, and the Great Sacred Treasure flew through it. It flew through the skies, until it landed among the majestic buildings of Palutena's Temple. Pit just deactivated the Great Sacred Treasure and landed on the ground. Dark Pit however immediately tackled him. "You idiot!" He shouted. "I had him where I wanted him! He wasn't going to survive!"

Pit just kicked his clone off of him. In the struggle he had pulled out the scroll that Dark Pit had written down the Angelic Artes upon. He just opened it and looked at the thirteenth and final Angelic Arte that Dark Pit had planned. Pit could only look in shock as he read over it. "Pittoo... You can't be serious..." Pit said actually afraid. "You were going to use this?"

"Yeah!" Dark Pit replied. "I was ready to lay down my life to clean up this mess of yours!"

"And you really think that would have worked?" A voice said. They all just turned to face Palutena, who was walking towards them.

"Yes, it would have!" Dark Pit replied. "Nothing would have remained. It would have been all annihilated!"

"What was this 13th angelic arte?" Magnus asked.

Palutena just took the scroll from Pit and read it. "The one that Dark Pit had prepared would have temporarily gained powers rivaling that of a God." Palutena replied. "But at the cost of his life."

"And it would have gotten rid of Hades too." Dark Pit replied. "It would have been fine, right! After all, I'm only a copy! It doesn't matter what happens to me as long as the original survives!"

"And how would you have guaranteed that?" Palutena asked.

Pit just looked at Palutena a bit confused. "Lady Palutena, are you coming down with a cold? Your voice sounds so different."

"It's nothing don't worry about it." Palutena replied.

"Maybe I could whip up some herbal medicines for you." A new voice said. Walking towards them was Viridi. "Now, Dark Pit why don't you tell Palutena how you planned on taking down Hades with that Angelic Arte?"

"I modified it." Dark Pit replied.

"How?" Palutena asked.

"I mixed some powder from the grounded up seeds of reset bombs into the ink." Dark Pit replied.

"A reset bomb?!" Palutena said shocked. "Viridi, you're making more of them!?"

"I planned on it." Viridi replied. "But, they take hundreds of years to grow, so you have a while."

"And how would have a reset bomb defeated Hades?" Palutena asked.

"Viridi explained it to me." Dark Pit replied. "Before they go off, they draw in all the impurities in the air in a certain radius, along with spiritual energy and then it creates an explosion. At point blank, all of Hades' energy would be absorbed and than anything that manged to survive would have been vaporized by the explosion."

"And you would have died. Along with Phosphora and Magnus!" Pit said.

"I planned on sending them away." Dark Pit replied. "So why are you here Viridi?"

"You really thought I wouldn't have noticed you stealing some of my wine and then giving it to a human?" Viridi asked. "I really should just pluck your wings off right this instant."

"Woah, hey, there's no need to do that." Pit said, standing between his clone and Viridi.

"Ah well, I won't do that." She said. "That was one of the bad years anyways, so I wasn't too fond of it. Besides, I think you had the right idea. It's just Hades was one step ahead of you."

"And now we can't do another surprise attack like that." Dark Pit muttered. "Of course, maybe if we stayed there, that woman could have have taken care of Hades!"

They all turned their attention to the woman who was standing there rather patiently. Viridi and Palutena immediately held out their staffs and looked at her rather antagonistically. Pit however was oblivious. "Sorry if I was a little rough with grabbing you." He said. "Just Hades was planning something."

"And you think I couldn't handle a god?" She said. "The Black Angel seems to have more faith in me than you did."

Dark Pit just gave pit a rather childish 'I told you so' look.

"The other two were complete unknowns..." Pit replied. "Hades was charging something up and we needed to get out of there I could sense other things approaching fast. I'm sorry, but I couldn't let an innocent person get dragged into this."

"That woman is far from innocent, Pit!" Palutena said. "She has made a pact with a Demon. And now that you brought her here, she is a threat to us!"

"Hold it!" Dark Pit said. "You can't execute her, we owe her our lives!"

The woman just stepped forwards. "You can try and execute me, but it's not going to end well for you. But at least you seem open to negotiations, unlike the angels from where I come from."

"Wait, angels where you come from?" Palutena asked.

"Who are you?" Pit asked.

"My name is Cereza, but you can call me Bayonetta." She said. "As for where I come from, the Angels of Paradiso hunted down witches with the Lumen Sages, and I'm now one of the two last surviving umbran witches."

"So, why are you here?" Viridi asked.

"Angel boy, why don't you explain." Bayonetta said. "That lunk explained it to you twice."

Pit just flinched. "Gee, thanks for putting me on the spot. Well, Hades somehow has managed to merge a bunch of different places together. That's what he said to us, at least."

"And my world was no different." Bayonetta replied. "A portal appeared, and some monsters were escaping it, so I took care of them and went into the portal to find the source, and now I've been dragged in to this mess."

"I see." Palutena said. "It would appear that our worlds are very different. We have no qualms with you. As long as you don't attack any of the inhabitants here, I won't attack you."

"Well, that works for me." Bayonetta replied.

"We can offer you a place to stay, however I'm uncertain of how you will get back to your world." Palutena replied. "I'm sorry that I'm not well versed in this situation."

"That's fine." Bayonetta replied. "I just need a place to crash until I go back and kill that God. I'm sure he will be able to open the portal to my world."

Pit just looked rather shocked. "You can't!" He said rushing up to Bayonetta. "Hades is not someone you can fight alone! And now, he'll be expecting you to come back to fight him. You likely won't have the advantage, since it seems like he somehow knew about you."

"Wait? He somehow knew about you?" Palutena asked.

"He called me an Umbran Witch, while you only could determine that I was dangerous because you sensed the pacts I made with the Infernal Demons." Bayonetta replied.

"It can't be." Viridi said rather shocked. "Soul Osmosis!"

"Soul what now?" Pit said confused.

"Soul Osmosis." Palutena repeated. "If that's the case, than this is bad."

"So what is Soul Osmosis?" Pit asked.

"Did you pay attention to anything in school?" Viridi wondered.

"Um, well PE." Pit happily replied.

"I should have known. If you eat a soul, or absorb it, you gain power." Viridi replied. "But you also unconsciously gain the knowledge that the soul had. Most of the time, or well, in any recorded instances it's just something small and insignificant. But... If Hades has been eating or absorbing hundreds and hundreds of souls, then he might have accumulated a great deal of knowledge. And if Hades realizes this, this is bad."

"Agreed." Palutena said. "We need to end this quickly."

"I can do something." Bayonetta said. "I have a few more pacts with some Infernal Demons. And if Jeane was here, we could summon Queen Sheba..."

Palutena just looked at Bayonetta. "I'm sorry if this sounds like I'm underestimating you. But, you had your chance. Hades will not be caught off guard again. His jovial attitude is just a front he uses it to mask his sinister and scheming side. He must of been planning this since his last defeat."

"And how did you defeat him last time?" Bayonetta asked.

"It was a long battle that involved, destroying his heart, cutting him in half, decapitating him, and then eventually he was vaporized. And as you can see, it wasn't exactly permanent." Palutena replied.

"And what makes you think that I'm the same as you?" Bayonetta asked. "I've taken out numerous gods in my world. Jubileus, Aesir. Fighting angels and demons is a normal day for me."

Palutena just shook her head. "Even if you were confident in your abilities, I can not let you fight Hades. Not like this." Behind Palutena appeared a radiant halo made of light. "Any further opening of the gateway to the Underworld will begin to break it. Letting Hades have free access to our world once again."

"So, we're just letting our world's problem be pushed on other worlds?" Dark Pit snapped.

"Our world has yet to have it's balance restored after Hades' last fight." Palutena replied. "And I want to stop him as much as you do, but..."

"Our best bet now is the Smashers, I guess." Viridi said looking at Pit.

"Yeah, we're working on it." Pit said.

"And what are these Smashers?" Bayonetta asked.

"A group of warriors formed from across worlds, and brought together in order to fight any crisis like this one." Pit replied.

"And they can do this while I can't?" Bayonetta wondered.

"Among the Smashers there are others who have felled Gods." Pit replied. "If we pool together our strengths, we can do it."

Bayonetta just smirked. "I see. Interesting. And how does one sign up for this?"

"I'm about to go back. If you would like, I could take you too." Pit said. "Pittoo, why don't you come too?"

"The Smashers eh?" Dark Pit sighed. "Sorry, I'm not interested."

"And why not?" Pit asked.

"Well first of all that would mean being with you." Dark Pit replied. "Secondly, you should know I don't like being caged up, or being someone's pawn."

"At the very least though, you should go over there to tell them what information you've learned." Viridi suggested. "If they know, they won't make the same mistakes you did."

"And why can't Pit tell them himself." Dark Pit replied.

"Because, I'm still furious about what you stole, and I will pluck your wings if I see you for a while." Viridi replied. "The only reason I'm not doing it right now, is because everyone else is here. But I'm sure that's nothing a little bit of sleeping powder won't fix."

Dark Pit just looked absolutely terrified. "Fine." he replied.

"Phosphora, you're coming with me for right now." Viridi said.

Phospohora just nodded and began to walk away.

Pit just laughed. "Well come on Pittoo, I guess we better get back to the Smash Mansion. Miss Bayonetta, please follow us."

Dark Pit just glared at him. "Fine, but only because I feel like I'm going to be killed if I stay here any longer." He muttered.

"Very well then." Bayonetta said.

"Sorry about this Lady Palutena!" Pit said bowing. "I promise I'll stay longer next time."

"Okay, have some fun with your brotherly bonding." Palutena cheerfully smiled.

Dark Pit could only feel dread creep across his back. Pit just wrapped his arm around Dark Pit's neck. "Yep, we will!" Pit laughed.

Pit walked away, while dragging Dark Pit. Bayonetta just followed at a distance. Magnus on the other hand just stood there a bit dumbstruck. "Did they just forget about me?" Magnus muttered.

"Magnus." Palutena said approaching the swordsman.

He just looked up. "What is it?" He growled.

"Do you still wish to fight Hades?" She asked.

"Yeah," Magnus replied. "Sorry, but I don't exactly plan on taking this sitting down."

"I see, that's good." She replied. "Please follow me."

She began to walk away, and Magnus followed. "Where are we going?"

"I'm going to train you." Palutena replied. "For only being a mere mortal, you are among the strongest that our world has, and you have much experience on the battlefield. However when fighting Gods, you are but a novice."

"So you're going to train me to slay gods?"

"I guess that's one way to look at it." Palutena replied.

"And what if I turn that talent on you?" Magnus wondered.

"You won't." Palutena replied. "But, if you did, you'd have to deal with Pit."

"True, he is pretty frightening." Magnus laughed.

They made their way to a colosseum. "Here many centurions and soldiers from sky world fight." Palutena said. "And here is where you're going to train."

"Not a bad looking place, but aren't you a bit afraid that I'm going to destroy it?" Magnus asked.

"If it comes to that we'll cross that bridge when we get there." Palutena replied. "But this place has withstood myself and Pit fighting in it, so don't be afraid to go all out."

"All right." Magnus laughed.

"This is going to be your first lesson." Palutena said standing about 10 feet away from him. "You are going to walk up to me."

"That's it?" Magnus laughed. "Wow, what sort of training is this."

"You felt it, didn't you?" Palutena asked. "When Hades was ready and activated his final attack how you were all paralyzed?"

"Yeah? What about that?" Magnus asked.

"That was him extending his battle aura to paralyze you." Palutena replied. "I will do the same, and you are going to have to learn how to move around under that pressure. This will be the start of your training."

"Fine." Magnus said. "Let's begin. Just don't hold back against me."

"Don't worry, I won't." Palutena replied.

* * *

In their ship, the 07th Platoon and Madeline Bergman were all around a table. They had just finished recounting the events. Unfortunately in the explosion with the Bottle Ship, their ship was badly damaged. They could no longer use warp speeds. So they had a while until they would make it back to the Galactic Federation.

Adam just let off a heavy sigh. "I'm afraid with what you've told us, this separate faction in the Galactic Federation will be after us now. Trying to stop you from getting back."

Madeline Bergman just nodded. "I honestly don't think I'll ever be safe there or anywhere else now." She said. "They're going to hunt me down no matter what to silence me."

"Well then, we're going to do everything in our power to protect you." Adam said. "You have my word. In the mean time, I wish I could say we can have a nice extended vacation. As I think we've earned it. But, the ship needs to be repaired to the best of our abilities. If you find any internal damage, report it and try to repair it. Of course none of us are really mechanics or engineers so the repairs that we do will probably be of the limited duct tape variety. In the mean time, try to relax."

They were dismissed, and they made their way through out the ship. Each going their separate ways. Anthony made his way to the kitchen and just got a cup of coffee ready. He relaxed for a few hours, before making his way to the bridge, with the intention of letting whoever was currently watching over everything go take a break. However he found K.G., Adam, and Lyle in the bridge. They were looking rather frantic.

"What's going on?" Anthony asked.

"Anthony, you're here, that's good. There's been something bothering me." K.G. said. "Ever since we escaped the Bottle Ship, and was hit by that energy wave...Well, we've been drifting through space. But I don't exactly recognize these star clusters, I'm also not finding any references in our systems. I know I'm not exactly a navigator, but... this is too weird."

"I'm looking though out all of the star charts that we have in our database, and there are no matches." Lyle said. "This is too strange."

"I'm wondering if that wave of energy accidentally activated warp before blowing our systems?" Adam wondered. "Are we out of Galactic Federation space?"

"Maybe, but even then, I'd be expecting a match or two for the stars..." Lyle said. "There's not even that, we're completely lost."

There was just silence. Everyone looked around a bit confused. "Well, I guess this makes things easy for protecting Madeline Burgman then." Anthony said. "If we don't know where we are, then there's next to no chance for the Galactic Federation finding us."

"But then that brings out the question of what else is out there." Adam said. "It could be like Bionis and Mechonis again. For all we know, we just got out of the frying pan and were put back into the fire."

More hours passed as they drifted through space. Lyle and K.G. were constantly looking for any signs on where they were, Adam had stepped out to go take a break, and Anthony just piloted the ship, making sure it didn't crash into any debris.

"Any change in the situation?" Adam asked as he came back into the room.

"None." Lyle replied.

"The ship also seems like it's holding together quite well." Anthony said.

Adam just nodded. Time passed, and they just continued what they were doing until they saw a giant white space ship. Their eyes focused on the flag of the United States of America painted on it. "Is that?!"

"It can't be..."

With nothing to lose they just activated their distress signal. A few minutes later they received a message from the ship. "This is Captain Kentaro Nagi of the USS White Whale. We have received your distress signal. Please state your situation."

Everyone looked rather shocked. "He's speaking English!" Adam said rather surprised. He just quickly opened his communications port. About ten seconds later they received a video feed. Standing there was a man in a military uniform. He had short black hair, and a scar underneath his lip. Despite his best attempts to mask it, he was rather surprised at the appearance of the 07th Platoon.

"My name is Commander Adam Malkovich. Our ship has broken down and we would like to request help." Adam replied. "Our exact situation is something that I feel can not be discussed over these open communication lines."

Captain Nagi just stood there. It was clear that he was thinking it over. "I can switch to a private encrypted line if you'd prefer." He said.

Adam just nodded. "Yes, that probably would be for the best." He said. "I will take this call in a private room." He just got up and walked to a room that was off to the side. As the image of Captain Nagi disappeared, Anthony suddenly found himself rather nervous.

Inside the room, Adam just took a seat, and waited. Soon he received the encrypted signal and the video feed of Captain Nagi.

"Are you alone?" Adam asked.

"Yes." Captain Nagi replied.

"Now then, is that ship really from Earth?!"

"Used to be. Earth was destroyed, and we were one of the few ships that made it out."

"What?" Adam said rather shocked. "What year is it?"

"2056 AD, we've been drifting through space for two years, trying to find a new planet to call home."

Adam just looked down rather grimly. "So, then that confirms my deepest fears. I will now explain our situation to you." He just began to explain what had happened.

"An alternate dimension?" Captain Nagi said. "This sounds hard to believe."

"I know it's hard to believe. But it would explain why our star charts weren't matching up. I am apart of an organization called The Galactic Federation, and we've had space travel for a long time. But it seems like you only just got to space travel."

"Yes, due to our unfortunate circumstances." Captain Nagi said.

The two continued talking.

Outside of the room, with every second that passed, Anthony, K.G., and Lyle were getting more and more nervous. Eventually Adam stepped out of the room. "They are letting us aboard." He said.

"What!?"

"Through my discussion with Captain Nagi, I found out a few things. The first, we were indeed transported to another dimension. Again. Get Madeline and Maurice and I'll explain everything else."

"Understood, sir!"

* * *

They had docked and entered through a door Standing in front of them was a large muscled blonde haired man with a mustache. He was in a tank top. He had a tattoo on his left bicep.

"Welcome aboard the USS White Whale. I'm Jack Vandham, the chief engineer here."

"An engineer comes to greet people?" Lyle said.

"Sorry, but we're rather short staffed." He said. "That and Captain Nagi has informed me that your ship is in need of repairs. My team can help. Although our resources are rather limited."

"That's fine." Adam said. "Just do whatever repairs you can, and then we'll be on our way."

"On your way? Shouldn't we be sticking together?" Vandham said.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know how much Captain Nagi briefed you on our situation." Adam replied. "But we have our reasons for wanting to get away."

"He did say that you weren't actually from our dimension." Vandham replied. "Well, I don't care. It's only my job to help get this thing fixed up."

"Thank you." Adam said.

The Galactic Federation soldiers just sat back and watched as the engineers began to work on the ship. There were rather large robots that were patching up the outside.

"Mechon!?" Lyle said surprised.

"They're Skells." A voice said. Lyle turned to see a young girl about 13 years old standing right beside him. "Aren't they so cool!?"

"Uh yeah." Lyle said a bit taken back by her sudden appearance. She just walked over to the ship and began to investigate it.

"This technology. Oh wow. It's so different. With it, I may be able to finish the Flight Module!"

"Is she an engineer too?" Anthony asked.

"Oh? Lin." Vandham laughed. "Yeah, and don't let looks fool you, she's one of our best. And right at the young age of 13. Hey Lin, come over here and introduce yourself to them!"

The girl just walked over. "Hello, I'm Lin Lee Koo." She said.

"Nice to meet you." Anthony said. "Please take good care of our ship." Now that she was closer, Anthony's eyes were drawn to her red hairclips.

"Of course!" Lin said.

"Your hair clips?" He said.

"What about them?" She asked.

"They look just like the sword that someone we just met used." Anthony replied. "The Monado."

"The Monado?" She said. "Never heard of it."

Anthony just nodded. "That's okay. Well do your best to repair our ship."

"Of course." Lin said.

They just watched for a bit bit longer. They sat at a table and were drinking some coffee as the White Whale's engineers worked.

"At least we're safe from the Galactic Federation." Madeline said.

"Maybe, but I'm afraid of what destroyed Earth in this world..." Adam sighed. "If it will chase after them, and if we'll be caught in the cross fire."

"And then what about what that separate faction is doing while we're not there?" Anthony wondered.

Adam just shook his head. "I don't really want to think about that. The best option is to return back to our world and then deal with them."

Lyle was scanning things with a device. However he suddenly froze when a crew member suddenly got in the way of his scan. He just looked at the result and stepped back. He began to make his way back to the rest of the group. With each crew member of the White Whale he passed, he scanned them as well, and the results were the exact same.

Eventually he saw Adam and the rest of the crew.

"Commander, can we speak privately?" Lyle asked. "Just us?" He motioned to the rest of the 07th Platoon and Madeline Bergman.

"Of course."

They just made their way to an isolated spot. "What is it Lyle?"

"Commander, I was scanning everything here in the ship and had discovered that everyone here is a robot."

Adam just nodded. "Yes, this was explained to me. Their real bodies were put in stasis. And they're controlling the robotic duplicates from the lifehold unit. Another part of the ship." Adam replied. "It's nothing to worry about."

"Thank you, Commander." Lyle said.

"Although, since you're all here, I feel that it's probably for the best if we leave this place as soon as possible." Adam said. "Unfortunately, whatever destroyed earth in this universe is still out there, and I fear that it might be coming for them. So once the repairs are done, we probably should leave."

"But can we travel through dimensions?" Anthony asked.

"If we can find where the portal we entered through was, we might be able to open it back up again, and we might be able to get back home." Maurice said.

"But those forces, would they follow us into our world." K.G. wondered.

"It's likely, but with the Galactic Federations technology, we should be able to fight against them." Adam said. "For right now, we just need to wait for repairs to be done."

* * *

File 1

Do you want to save?

YES

Party: Zoroark, Noah

7? Chosen Champions Remain

* * *

**Notes:**

**This chapter was even shorter than the last one... Ah well, 15,000 words feels a lot more manageable than 25,000 - 35,000 editing wise.**

**I am so glad I saved that F-Bomb. I figure a T is like PG-13, you're allowed one.**

**Okay, since some characters that may show up that aren't apart of the current games and stuff, I'll explain where they come from in the notes if people don't know. Spoilers below for both of the characters:**

**-Vanitas is from the Kingdom Hearts series. Specifically Birth By Sleep. He is Ventus' darkness that was extracted from him. So that Ventus became a being of pure light, while Vanitas was a being of pure darkness.**

**-Chara is from Undertale. He is the first fallen human child, who only appears and taints your save if you do a Genocide run. In the Genocide run he takes over the MC, and then infects other timelines.**

**If I'm remembering correctly, Hades didn't have a nickname for Dark Pit. (I can't check right now... I kind of deleted my save file, to replay it again, but only got up to Lunar Sanctum before other stuff came out, Yes I know there's multiple save slots, don't ask why I did that instead of starting a new slot...(I'm a bit weird... I need to have the first save slot...)) He just said he looked rather goth. So I kind of made "Dippy Pit" up. Was kind of going for something like how he calls Pit "Pitty Pat"**

**Bayonetta actually has two types of wings. The feathery wings which are for aerial battles. And then there is the butterfly wings that she had in the trailer, were for double jumps.**

**I was actually considering having Phantoon Appear.**

**My original plan was having them stuck on Mira. But since I have beaten the main story of Xenoblade Chronicles X, and due to how it ends with a bunch of things unanswered, and a giant cliffhanger, and it's built up to a currently unannounced second game, I'm probably not doing that now.**


	12. Changes

**Maybe I should be playing Fire Emblem Fates... At least that would be what I would be doing if Canada Post delivered it... That may be the last time I purchase something online from Best Buy. (Although, I got the special edition, it was the only place that I could get it as I had missed everywhere else...) Well it will be an absolute last resort if this experience was anything to go by.  
**

**Beyond that, I've got nothing up here today.**

* * *

Chapter 12: Changes

Out in space, where the Bottle Ship used to occupy. Another Galactic Federation ship appeared at the now empty space.

"Colonel. We have arrived at where the distress signal was coming from."

There was a portly old man. "What?!" He said rather surprised. "But where is the Bottle Ship?"

"It has been destroyed. It seems that the self destruct sequence was activated." A soldier replied.

"And any sign of Malkovich's squad?" The colonel asked.

"No sir, we can't find any trace of their ship."

The Colonel just smiled. "Well, looks like they got what was coming to them." he said. "With any luck they're all dead, either by the assassin in their ranks, or from the explosion. Do a few more scans of the area. Then we'll go back."

The Colonel just laughed. This was a rather easy job to do. They were just supposed to go capture any survivors to keep them quiet about the Galactic Federation's dirty deeds. The fact that everything was destroyed just made everything even easier. They would probably take a day break just to give the impression that they were scouting the area for any sign of wreckage or any sign of survivors.

"Sir, I'm picking up on some strange readings."

"What are they?"

"They appear to be some sort of wormhole, they lead somewhere else. It may be possible that the ship escaped into there."

"Can we access it?"

"Maybe if we send a probe..."

"Do that!" The Colonel ordered. "We need to find out if Malkovich is still alive, and then report back." The colonel just grumbled. They waited several minutes.

"We've found the ship through the portal." One said. "Our probe can not figure out where they are. It seems like it's completely uncharted space."

"Destroy this portal, so that they never come back!" the Colonel ordered. "This will be easier to clean up than I thought."

* * *

Claus just staggered forwards and grabbed his head. The images of the blonde boy, with a red and yellow striped shirt flashed through his head. "Who is that guy?" He asked. "Why do I know him? Why is he so familiar?"

He pounded his fist against the wall of the underworld castle, shattering the stones and leaving a rather noticeable mark. He just looked up, he was extremely frustrated and wanted answers. He just began to walk through the castle, looking for wherever Hades could be. But he couldn't find the god, making him even more and more frustrated.

"Oh, you're back from your mission, you failure." A voice said.

Claus turned to see Chara just leaning against a wall. "I don't need this right now Chara."

"Fine." Chara sighed. "Well whatever, I don't care. Hades is in the courtyard. It must be nice being his favorite little soldier. Being sent places. It doesn't matter if you succeed or fail. Meanwhile, I'm just constantly stuck here."

"That's not my problem." Claus said, pushing past Chara.

Chara however just ran in front of Claus. He just pulled out his knife and put it dangerously close to Claus' neck. "I wonder, do you still bleed?"

Claus just placed his arm cannon right on Chara's abdomen and fired at point blank. This sent the child backwards. Chara quickly recovered and rushed for Claus, however Claus pulled out an energy sword and knocked Chara's knife out of his hand. "Don't test me." Claus said as he passed the child.

"You are confused." Chara laughed, as he struggled to get up. "You shouldn't take it out on me! Maybe you should go there yourself and find out why Hades removed your memories."

Claus just looked at Chara. "My memories?"

"You need to find out the truth..." Chara laughed, disappearing into the darkness.

Claus just looked around and began to scour the shadows, looking for where Chara had disappeared to.

"The truth?" Claus muttered. He glanced at the hallway that would lead to the courtyard where Hades was. However he just turned away, and began to run.

* * *

Magnus was covered in sweat. He was gasping for air. He was only five feet away from Palutena, but the amount of pressure that she was releasing was unbelievable. With every slight glance at him, he felt like he was going to be torn apart. If she even so much as twitched, his body would just instinctively react, and try to get as far away as possible.

"_So this is a God?!_" Magnus thought.

"Yes indeed." Palutena replied.

Magnus just looked at her rather shocked. "You heard that?!"

"Don't be shocked." Palutena replied. "You are in my domain now. I am omnipotent. I will know your every single thought, and move. And this is only the beginning of fighting a God or Goddess. It is nothing more than an uphill battle for a mere mortal. So, are you going to give up?"

"Fat chance." Magnus laughed.

Palutena just smiled. "Good." She said.

They continued on for an hour until Phosphora walked into the colosseum.

"Phosphora, what brings you here?" Palutena asked.

"Mistress Viridi said that I also have to partake in this training." Phosphora replied.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Magnus wondered.

Phosphora just began to walk up towards Palutena, she got at least within three feet of her before her body froze. "Maybe a mortal like you should just walk away and get back to your peaceful and short life."

Magnus just glared at her.

"Now, now, Phosphora." Palutena said a bit annoyed. "No cheating."

"What?" Magnus said. "She's cheating."

"Yes." Palutena replied. "This is only the first stage. I will be increasing the intensity later once Magnus get's used to this, and I guess now you too."

Palutena just put her staff on the ground, and light began to illuminate off of her. Floating behind her appeared a symbol. Magnus was just overcome with fear. He couldn't move, and just collapsed onto the ground, averting his gaze. Phosphora likewise also fell to the ground. But soon the pressure began to disappear. Magnus looked up to see Palutena just smiling at them.

"You've both done well." She said. "In battle, Hades could do something like that, and it will temporarily freeze you, in fact he did that during the battle. So now, I guess you understand how dangerous something like that is. Phosphora, your spirit barrier would instantly be broken, so you both need to train to be able to stand up to a God's influence. I'm sure you both know this, but to stand up against a God is to stand up against the very foundation of the world."

"I see..." Magnus said.

"You've done well for today." Palutena said. "Magnus, go rest yourself in our sacred hotsprings, and heal. We will resume tomorrow. You too Phosphora."

"Right." They both said.

* * *

Magnus had found his way to the sacred hot springs. He had stripped out of his clothing and was now in the hot spring, just soaking in the hot water, letting the water just heal his tired and aching muscles. "That was the first day of training, huh?" He thought to himself. "It's only going to get harder from here on out isn't it."

He suddenly felt the presence of others around him. He opened his eyes, and saw six people glaring at him. He could tell they weren't humans, but they weren't angels either.

"What do you want?" Magnus asked.

"You're going to come with us Human."

Magnus just looked at each of them rather annoyed. "And if I don't want to?" He said.

"Then we'll just bring you by force." One said.

Magnus laughed. "Interesting." He said. "Fine, let's go, under the condition we get changed first."

They agreed, and soon Magnus was in his clothing and light armor. The other six were in armor. They brought him to a field. "All right, why are we here?" Magnus asked.

They just glared at him and pulled out weapons.

"I see, so it's a fight." He said. "Well that's fine with me."

"Why is Lady Palutena training a dirty human such as yourself!" One said.

"I think I'm finally getting it now." Magnus said. "You guys must be spirits like Phosphora." Magnus just grabbed his sword and looked at all six of them. "Well, then, come!"

They all rushed towards Magnus.

Sometime later they had all been defeated, and were just lying on the ground unconscious.

"Hey, if you're omnipotent, you should of been able to see this." Magnus said.

Palutena just teleported right beside him. "I did." She replied.

"And why didn't you step in?" Magnus wondered.

"Well, I wanted to see your progress for myself." Palutena replied. "Starting tomorrow, these six are going to help you train."

"So you planned this?" Magnus asked.

"No, I just decided on it right now." Palutena replied. "If they want to go through the same training as you do, I see no reason why we shouldn't grant their request."

"You are an evil woman, you know that?" Magnus replied.

"I just think this is the punishment deserving of their actions." Palutena replied. She waved her staff and all six of the armored warriors began to float away. "Rest up, tomorrow's training will be much harder than today's."

Magnus just laughed. "Fine." He began to walk back to the hot springs in order to soak his body and relax.

* * *

The Great Sacred Treasure came out of a portal and entered into the hanger in the Smash Mansion, a moment later it disappeared and Pit, Dark Pit, and Bayonetta fell to the ground. While Pit and Bayonetta landed gracefully on the ground, Dark Pit just face faulted.

"A little bit more warning next time?" Dark Pit muttered.

"You had plenty of warning." Pit said. "Now let's see. Miss Bayonetta, welcome to the Smash Mansion."

"Smashing."

"Would you like me to give you a grand tour?" Pit asked.

"Hey, suck up, where's my tour?" Dark Pit wondered.

"Come on Pittoo, why do you need a tour? You know where everything is."

"Don't call me that!" Dark Pit snapped.

Pit just led Bayonetta towards an elevator, and Dark Pit followed. However as they got closer, sirens began to wail.

"Intruder detected."

"What the?!"

"Oh no!" Pit said realizing his mistake. He glanced over at Dark Pit, he realized that he shouldn't have triggered anything since he had been to the mansion before. His gaze went over to Bayonetta. "She must have triggered the alarms."

"I did?" Bayonetta said, rather offended.

"Well not you, the demon you made a pact with." Pit replied.

Suddenly four alloys appeared. A red, a blue, a yellow, and a green. They just surrounded Bayonetta. Pit just looked rather afraid. "Oh no."

"What? Aren't they just training dummies?" Dark Pit said.

"No, they're set to cruel." Pit replied. "They are to force you out."

"So we just fight them and beat them!" Dark Pit said, rushing towards one. Pit however rushed forwards and tackled Dark Pit to the ground.

"You can't!" Pit said. "If you do they will attack you as well."

"So, we're just leaving her to face them alone?" Dark Pit snapped.

"Don't worry about me boys." Bayonetta said. "Why don't I show you what I can do. And that goes for those of you watching at home." She winked at a security camera. "Or why don't you come here, maybe if you're fast, there might be one left standing. It's not every day I give a live show after all."

"Who is she talking to?" Dark Pit wondered.

Master Hand suddenly teleported in. "Very well." He said.

Bayonetta just summoned four red guns. Two attached to her heels, while she held the other two. The set was known as Scarborough Fair, each gun had a name Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. She just looked at the four alloys.

"You don't mind if I destroy these things?" She wondered.

"If you can." Master Hand replied.

"Interesting." Bayonetta replied. "You seem to have a lot of confidence in these tin cans. Well then, come!"

The Yellow and Green Alloy's rushed forwards towards Bayonetta, they jumped into the air, and threw a punch and a kick at her. Bayonetta however just jumped back narrowly dodging them. However she just looked at them in shock. "What the!?"

She just quickly kicked the Yellow Alloy back and tried to get some distance between her and the green one. However the Green Alloy just remained close to her. She quickly jumped onto the walls, and began to climb them, however the Green Alloy followed.

Bayonetta just quickly summoned a giant fist that rushed right for the Green Alloy, however the Yellow Alloy just jumped and kicked it causing the fist to be pushed away from the Green Alloy.

Pit and Dark Pit just looked on in shock. "No way." Dark Pit said. "Those demon fists where matching Hades' attacks blow for blow."

"An alloy is a metal composed of multiple base metals." Master Hand said. "These are the four strongest, cruelest Alloys we have. Composed of Nintendium, known for being next to indestructible, and then a few other metals. Pit, you remember when I had you and the rest of the Smashers challenge and fight the 100 alloys."

"Yeah, they were super weak!" Pit laughed.

"Indeed." Master Hand replied.

"They cracked and broke after a few hits."

"The alloy they were composed of was cheap, and intentionally made so." Master Hand replied.

"Wait, what?!" Pit said shocked.

"One of the many metals that that those alloys were made of was known as Memory Metal. When broken, it adapts and absorbs what broke it." Master Hand said. "From Donkey Kong's and Ganondorf's brute force, to Bowser's flames. Your holy arrows were no different."

Pit just looked at Bayonetta in shock. "Wait, then that means!"

"All those broken fragments were brought together and mixed in to make the new and strongest alloys." Master Hand said.

"So the power from his holy arrows, is actually in the memory metal and that's what's making Bayonetta have a hard time." Dark Pit said. "Interesting."

Bayonetta, who had been gracefully dodging each of the Yellow and Green Alloy's attacks had been also listening to Master Hand's explanation. "I see, so that's it. Sneaky... Well then, let's have a bit of fun then..."

She rushed right into the Yellow Alloy and fired the two guns in her hands at point blank. She jumped back, and kicked the Yellow Alloy down into the Red and Blue Alloys that were just standing there patiently observing the match.

The Yellow alloy crashed into the Red and Blue alloys. Suddenly being agitated, the Red and Blue alloys jumped up towards Bayonetta.

"She shouldn't have done that." Master Hand sighed.

Bayonetta just smiled. She was suddenly covered with a red aura. She swung her arm, and it was like a sword cut through the air. The Alloys were all knocked back, and there wasn't even a gash on their armor. However, on the yellow alloy, part of her attack had hit a spot on it's abdomen that wasn't covered by the alloy. It seemed to wince in pain.

Bayonetta just rushed forwards towards the Yellow Alloy, placed her two guns on it's abdomen and began to open fire. The Yellow alloy staggered backwards.

"I've seen enough." Master Hand said. He just snapped his fingers and the alloys went down towards him. He just looked over their armor and then at the wound that Bayonetta had caused on the yellow alloy. His hand began to glow with a blue light, and it healed the wound. A few moments later the alloys began to walk away. "Bayonetta, was it? Please come down, there is much to discuss."

"Oh." She smiled jumping off of the ceiling, and landing gracefully on the ground. "Such as?"

"I'd like to invite you into the Smashers." Master Hand said.

* * *

Zoroark and Noah quickly found that the house was lonely, and empty. Without Saki, Isaac, Lucas there, or even Alex it just felt empty and far too big.

It was a constant and unsettling feeling that Zoroark had, he always thought the house was too big for just Alex and himself, but now, it really felt like that. Beyond that, without Alex there, he felt like he didn't belong.

Zoroark just went around the house, looking for any trace of his Master, but there was none. Just the 3DS that he had left on the charging cradle. He just held it, hugging it, and holding it close to his chest. "Master, please be safe." he said.

That night, neither of them slept more than two hours. Zoroark was afraid that he would never see Alex again, and Noah was outright terrified of what would happen to him now.

In the morning they both struggled to get up, and go to school. Zoroark honestly considered ditching school, after all it didn't matter to him, he was only there to 'fit in' and to hold up the illusion that he was someone else. But, whenever Alex was sick, he would order him to go to school. For that reason alone, he went. All throughout the day, he kept seeing people stare at him, he would glance, and they would realize that he saw them and quickly turned away.

It wasn't until lunch that he knew why. Much to his shock, he saw that Cody had approached him. "Hey, can we talk, Nick?" Cody said.

Zoroark just nodded. They got up, and made their way out of the school. Cody just was constantly looking nervous. They got to the forest, and they both looked around to make sure that they hadn't been followed. Cody just immediately went on his hands and knees. "I'm sorry!" He said. "I couldn't do anything to stop it!"

"Stop what?" Zoroark said confused.

Cody just looked up to see the confused Pokemon. "What, where have you been this weekend?" Cody asked.

"Bionis." Zoroark replied.

Cody just looked dumbfounded. "Bionis? As in the Xenoblade Bionis?"

"Is there any others?" Zoroark wondered.

"I guess not..." Cody replied. "So then, where's Alex?"

"I don't know." Zoroark replied. "Somewhere in the other worlds. We got separated and things happened."

"So, you haven't heard the news..." Cody said a bit shocked. "I'm both relieved and now terrified."

"Of what?"

"Being the one who has to deliver this news to you." Cody said.

Zoroark just looked at Cody. "What happened?" He managed to ask.

Cody just began to pace around, it was clear that in his head he was trying to figure out how to word this. "So much has happened, and urgh, why does this have to be my job?" He just punched a nearby tree. "I guess we should start from the top. I've been given orders to eliminate Alex."

Zoroark just stood there, a bit shocked. "But you work for Nugai, so even if you were given those orders, you wouldn't do it."

"You're right... But that's not all." Cody said. "Nugai, he's been scheduled to be put to death."

"What?!" Zoroark shouted surprised. "But, Canada doesn't have the death penalty."

"I know that." Cody replied. "I know that, but... it's essentially being done off the books. It will probably be publicized as him dying of something else. Like he started to refuse to eat."

"Besides, Nugai won't let that happen." Zoroark said. "Master always said that Nugai was just biding his time."

"I believe that too." Cody replied. "He's well aware that they would eventually try to get rid of him, but there's not much you can do to a person who can bend time and space at will. But, that really wasn't all. You've probably noticed all the people staring at you..."

Zoroark just nodded.

"The building where Alex fought Hero, the security footage was investigated, and Alex is now a wanted criminal. They've identified him and are looking for him. The current plan is to pin the murders on him."

"What?!" Zoroark shouted. "But that was Hero?!"

"They know that, but they also know everything with the Chosen Champions and the Smashers." Cody replied. "And how they are going to interfere with Zenith's plans. The search for him, it's going to be kept low key, only local to try and not notify his mother..."

"Fat chance." Zoroark laughed. "She'll find out from family and stuff."

"Publicly, it's going to be dealt as a missing person case." Cody bluntly said. "Probably the luckiest of coincidences with you not being there this weekend, and away on Bionis... They all ready searched your house and bugged it but Nugai took care of that."

Zoroark just looked a bit afraid.

"But I don't know if they knew what happened in that world then." Cody said. "I thought it was a bit strange that they all ready posted his face everywhere as a missing person. But if they did, it makes sense. But how?"

"Zero." Zoroark replied. "Alex voiced concern to me that one of the chosen champions that remained was a spy, or something, that they worked for Zenith. But..."

"Hold on just a second." A voice said. Appearing from thin air was Nugai. "I've been doing a bit of digging into this Zero person... They are not a chosen champion."

"But Master said that he had the chosen champion program somehow." Zoroark pointed out.

"Zero is like me, an Akashic Point user." Nugai replied. "With that, it's just a simple copy and paste."

"Then he could have been watching us on Bionis... and in the Bottle Ship." Zoroark said. "Then that could have meant that the separating was intentional and not an accident!"

Nugai just stood there. "Yeah." was all he said.

"You seem quite calm considering your cousin is lost in the other world, and it seems like Zenith is making their move, which also includes your own execution." Cody said.

"You're right Tei. We'll I've got my execution figured out anyways." Nugai laughed. He snapped his fingers and suddenly a Wire Frame appeared, with a wave of his hand, it looked identical to Nugai. "This Wire Frame, courtesy of Master Hand, will be acting as a stand in, starting now." He snapped his fingers and the Wire Frame disappeared. "In the mean time, I guess I better start working on my counter plan and trying to find my cousin."

Cody just nodded.

"Just there's one thing..." Zoroark said. "Knowing Master, when he get's back he's probably going to be upset about all of the school he missed."

Nugai just laughed. "That's just like him."

"Is there a way to do his exams for him if he's still missing?" Zoroark asked.

Nugai just nodded. "There is, I just hope it doesn't take that long." He said. "Tei, I'll contact you the usual way if I need you."

Cody just nodded.

"Wait, Nugai!" Zoroark shouted. "There's something else."

"And that is?" Nugai asked.

"I feel like this is partly my fault." Zoroark said. "What if I'm not strong enough to protect Master? Is there a way I can get stronger?!"

Nugai just nodded. He stretched out his hand and two gemstones appeared. "Then use this. It's Zoroarkite and a keystone." Nugai said. "But whether you can use that power it will be up to you."

The two gems floated over to Zoroark. Zoroark just looked up at Nugai in shock. "I can mega evolve?!" He said, rather ecstatic.

Nugai just nodded. "Yes, you can, but that's ultimately up to you."

"I'll use this power to protect Master!" Zoroark said. "Thank you."

"Of course, that method requires you having Alex back here, or forming a bond with another human such as Noah." Nugai said. "There is another method for Mega Evolution." In Nugai's hand appeared a bangle with numerous impressions that looked like something could be placed there. "This is a looplet. Please put it on."

Zoroark just took it and put on the looplet on his wrist. In Nugai's hand appeared what looked like a gemstone. "This is the Awakening Emera." He said. "With it, you can Mega Evolve, however such power is only temporary. If you stay in Mega Evolution for too long in this mode, you will go berserk."

"I understand." Zoroark said.

Nugai just tossed the Emera to Zoroark who caught it. "Good, in that case, be careful. And you will breakthrough your current limits to become stronger."

"Right."

With a simple snap of his fingers Nugai disappeared. Zoroark just sat down on a nearby stump. "So what now?" Zoroark asked.

"I guess you just continue what you're doing." Cody replied. "As far as I can tell, they don't seem concerned about you, at least not yet. All I've heard is that they just seem to think you're a pet that he got through abusing world crossing. But I'd think you should be careful as well, they may try to get to you if you know something, or to bring him out of hiding"

"Have any other chosen champion's identities been compromised?"

"No." Cody replied. "Not even Noah's." Zorark just nodded, at least happy about that. "It seems like the little editing that Nugai and Master Hand did after that incident where he killed his father, there was a small fail safe, everyone just seems to think that he's Alex's half brother. Or another one or something, since it seems like his father likes to sleep around."

Zoroark just laughed a bit, the small bit of levity was needed. The few times he had met Alex's father, he didn't exactly have a very positive impression of the man. "Nathan, he will probably be calling tonight then, wondering what happened."

"How much does he know?" Cody asked.

"Just that I'm a Zoroark."

"Keep it that way, if you can." Cody said. "There's no telling what Zenith will do now."

Zoroark just nodded. They got up, and returned to their school day like nothing happened. At least now knowing why people were looking at him cut out a bit of the iritation. To them, Alex was his brother. They were probably showing as much fake pity as they could muster.

He arrived home, and just began to make dinner. He kept the phone near him, waiting for the inevitable phone call. It rang a few times, and he looked at the caller display, there was a bit of relief when he saw it was just a telemarketer, so he ignored it. But soon the inevitable phone call began. He saw Alex's father's number and just picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Nick!" A voice replied from the other end. "Is my brother there?!"

Zoroark contemplated lying to him. All he would have to do was just transform into his master, the illusion would do the rest. But Nathan would know, Nathan always knew, and could see through his illusions. "No, I'm sorry." Zoroark replied.

It was evident that the kid on the other end's heart just broke. "Then is it true?" He began to cry. "My brother is missing!?"

It hurt Zoroark to say it, but he needed to. "Yes." He replied.

"Where?" Nathan asked between sobs.

"I don't know." Zoroark replied. "He just disappeared. Sorry bud, but you know I'll be looking for him."

"This means I won't be able to come over this weekend, right?" He cried.

Zoroark just looked rather pained. He knew Nathan liked being here and spending time with them, but unfortunately he knew that their parents wouldn't allow it. "Sorry." Zoroark said. "But if I find him I'll let you know and you can come over."

The kid said his good byes and hung up. Zoroark just put the phone down and let off a heavy sigh. "Well, that's one giant weight off of my shoulders. Now for the other one."

"Other one?" Noah asked.

"His mother."

That phone call eventually came. It was a long distance call, the caller display saying it was from a Alex's mother's cell phone. Zoroark just answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello Nick."

While to the outside world it appeared that Alex and Nick were brothers, to Alex's mother, Nick was just his best friend who happened to live with Alex, because she was never there and always on book tours, or something. Since she was hardly around there was never any need to worry about the stories never meshing together.

"I've been dreading this." Zoroark replied.

"So, I guess that means what I've been hearing about my son disappearing is true." She replied.

"Yes." Zoroark replied.

"I guess the only question is, is there a ransom note?" She asked.

"No, there isn't." Zoroark replied.

There was a sigh of relief. "That's good. He probably just needed time to get away from everything." She replied. "Stress from school, life, I'm sure he'll be back. He's getting older. And as much as I hate to admit it, he's growing up. One day he will have to leave, and possibly start up a family of his own. You two have always been rather big troublemakers you know that. You made my hair go white faster than my editor's deadlines. I regret not being there for him, but... perhaps it's a punishment."

"Punishment?" Zoroark asked confused. "Why would this be a punishment?"

"Things were different back then." She sighed. "I thought I'd have a loving husband to look after him while I was away... We didn't know he was going to be so sick. I didn't know that my husband was going to cheat. In the end, we never did tell him. He doesn't know."

Zoroark could feel the hairs all across his body standing on end. It was like everything went cold. "He doesn't know what?" He asked.

There was just silence on the other end of the line. A few moments later it was replaced with a weak laugh. "Look at me, I've just went and rambled on." She said trying to dismiss it.

"Please, tell me what he doesn't know, it could be related to him disappearing." Zoroark said, of course he knew it didn't, but he desperately wanted to know.

"It doesn't have anything to do with his disappearance, I can assure you of that." She replied.

"Please, tell me." Zoroark said.

"I shouldn't have rambled on." She weakly laughed. "It's my fault. But fine, Alex is adopted."

Zoroark just went white. His illusion actually broke. "What?!" He said.

"It must be quite a shock to you too. I'm glad he at least has a good friend to confide in. If he returns, please watch over him."

"Yes, of course. I'll let you know if he returns." Zoroark said.

"Thank you." She replied.

Zoroark just hung up, and collapsed on a chair. Noah just looked at him. "What were you told?"

Zoroark however just ignored him. "What the hell?" He muttered.

"Hey, Zoroark?" Noah said.

Zoroark just glanced up. "Sorry." Zoroark replied. "I don't want to talk about it right now."

* * *

At the Smash Mansion, the kid Smashers were playing a game of soccer out in the yard. Or once again it had degenerated into hitting the ball as hard as they could, without breaking it. Popo had hit the soccer ball with his hammer, causing ice to surround it, and go flying.

However, out of nowhere, someone jumped in front of the ball and just cut it into two. He landed and just held out his beam sword in front of them, just pointing it at Lucas. Everyone was rather shocked by his sudden appearance, and took a few seconds to digest what he looked like. A helmet that concealed most of his face. A black jacket, orange pants, and black boots.

Ness just stepped in front of Lucas and held his baseball bat, slinging it over his shoulder. "Everyone, prepare yourself in case of a fight." Ness whispered before turning his attention back to the Masked Man. "What do you want? You're with Hades, right?"

"Yes." The Masked Man replied. "However, Lord Hades did not send me here. I came here of my own free will, I have questions and am seeking answers."

Ness just stared forwards. "And what are those?"

"You, who are you?" The Masked Man asked.

"Well, I'm Ness."

"No, I don't mean you, I don't care about you." The Masked Man replied. "I mean the person behind you, the blonde boy."

Lucas just passed by Ness and looked at the Masked Man. "Can you remove your helmet?" Lucas asked. "And put down your weapon? Do those, and I'll peacefully answer your questions."

The Masked Man complied. He turned off his beam sword and reattached it to his belt and then reached up and took off his helmet. A few of the Smashers gasped, and Lucas just approached him. Lucas just got close and looked at him, inspecting every inch of his face, before wrapping his arms around him and just hugging him. The Masked Man just stood there a bit shocked.

"Claus, it is you!" Lucas cried.

"How do you know my name?" He asked.

"Your my brother." Lucas replied.

Claus just pushed Lucas away, and looked at him. "No, that's impossible." He said. "I've always served Lord Hades..."

"Your memories must of been replaced, or removed or something." Lucas said.

"My memories? Is this what Chara meant?"

"Come on, you've got to remember Mom and Dad and Boney, right?" Lucas said.

Claus just looked a bit shocked.

"Boney?" Popo laughed. "What sort of name is that?"

Lucas and Claus just shot him a glare. "Our dog's!" They both replied. Claus just looked a bit shocked and staggered backwards. Unsure of what he just said.

Lucas began to hug him once again. "You do remember!" However Lucas froze, and stopped his embrace.

Claus was shaking, he was absolutely terrified. "How do I know these things?" He muttered, staggering backwards. "Why? I don't remember this, but I know it?"

Lucas just smiled. "Your memories are bound to come back if you spend more time with me. Come on!" Lucas just grabbed Claus' hand and began to drag him away.

"Lucas, are you sure you should-" Ness began, but he cut himself off when he realized that Lucas probably wouldn't care if it was a trap. He'd take this risk to be with his brother once again. Ness decided to just follow behind Lucas and Claus at a distance, in the event that anything happened he would be there to protect Lucas. They made their way into a forest, and into a clearing where Lucas and Claus just continued to talk to each other.

Ness just leaned up against a tree at the other end, and just watched them. He closed his eyes and began to think about his family. His sister Tracey, his mother and father.

There was suddenly a snap, Ness' eyes opened in time to see a flash of light. A deku nut had been thrown in between them, and stunned them all. As Lucas regained his sight, he saw that Claus had been tackled down by Wolf. A blaster was just placed directly on Claus' face.

"Don't move." Wolf threatened.

There were several other Smashers such as Samus, Snake, and Falco were there. They also had ray guns, blasters or their own arm cannon aimed right at Claus.

"Get away from him!" Lucas cried out, but he was being held back by Toon Link, and Red. Ness was also being held back by Nana and Popo.

"Lucas, stop this right now." Master Hand said. "We are detaining him for information. He is our enemy."

"No!" Lucas pleaded. "Stop!"

However Master Hand, Wolf, Falco, Samus, and Snake just began to walk away. Escorting Claus away. He didn't struggle.

Lucas began to struggle and scream. "Claus! Claus!" He shouted. Claus just glanced back and gave a small nod and smile, and then faced forwards once again.

All Lucas could do was collapse on the ground and break down. Claus had been taken away from him once again. Lucas just broke Toon Link and Red's grip and ran off. They went to follow them, however Ness just blocked their way having broken out of Nana and Popo's grip earlier.

"Get out of the way, Ness." Red said. "Lucas might go and do something rash."

"He won't." Ness sighed. "You should know him better than that. He's just going to go to where he goes every time he's upset, the flower garden..."

Sure enough, Lucas ran to the flower garden, and just hid away on a bench in the flowers. "Why did Master Hand do that..." He muttered. He sat there for a few minutes, and then felt someone looming over him. He figured it was Ness, but when he didn't say anything he just looked up.

Lucas just looked at shock at the new woman. He hadn't seen her around the mansion before. "Is something wrong, little one?" She asked.

Lucas just nodded. "Yes." He said.

"You can tell me about it." She said.

Lucas nodded. "Who are you though?" he asked, a bit cautious of the woman.

"My name is Bayonetta." she said.

"I haven't seen you around the mansion before." Lucas said. "Are you someone who Master Hand is considering to make a Smasher?"

Bayonetta just nodded. "And a boy like yourself is a Smasher?" She wondered.

Lucas just nodded.

"You're much too soft to be a fighter." Bayonetta replied.

Lucas nodded in agreement. "Everyone says that." He sighed. "And I agree with them. But Ness says that's my greatest strength."

"Ness?" Bayonetta wondered.

"He's my best friend." Lucas replied. "And he's another Smasher."

Bayonetta just glanced up to see someone watching them from a distance. A young boy with a baseball cap. "I see." she said, figuring this was Ness. "Well, why were you crying here in the garden?"

Lucas glanced up at Bayonetta. "Um, well..." he nervously muttered. "You see..." Lucas just began to explain the situation, how his brother had disappeared, and on a recent mission he came face to face to him. How he was the enemy. Then his brother appeared outside the Smash Mansion, and was captured and detained by the other Smashers.

Bayonetta just looked at the Smash Mansion.

"Miss Bayonetta?"

"Just Bayonetta is fine." She said.

"I don't know what to do." Lucas admitted.

"Hey there you are!" A voice said. "I've been looking all over for you." Walking towards Lucas and Bayonetta was Dark Pit. Lucas had seen him at the Smash Mansion a few times before, where he was visiting his brother.

"You angels really are rude, you know that?" Bayonetta said. "Can't you see we're in the middle of something."

"Yeah," Dark Pit said annoyed. "I don't care." A gun appeared in Bayonetta's hands, and she just pointed it right at Dark Pit. "Fine, fine, you've made your point."

Lucas' eyes suddenly lit up. "Wait, you two aren't Smashers yet, are you?"

"No," Dark Pit replied. "Honestly I'm leaving. Just Pit told me I might as well say good bye to her before I go."

"Listen, can I ask for a huge favor?" Lucas asked.

"That depends." Dark Pit said.

* * *

Palutena wasn't lying when she said that the training was going to be much harder. The six that had attacked him the previous night were now attacking him while he tried to progress closer to Palutena. She had increased the intensity of the pressure, so he was much further back and trying to approach her. All while the six of them were running circles around him, trying to attack.

Magnus would swing his sword in an attempt to block, but he soon was finding that they were much more coordinated this time than they were last night. If he swung at one least two others would counter attack. Their weapons for the most part had been replaced, with training weapons, so that their attacks were much weaker, and not life threatening. But that didn't mean that it didn't hurt. Magnus could swear that they were trying to inflict as much pain as possible to him.

"And how goes the progress?" Viridi asked, walking up to Palutena, as though it was nothing.

"He's making some." Palutena replied. "But I'm not sure if it's enough."

"Why?" Viridi asked.

"There's no telling when Hades will strike again," Palutena replied. "And I'd want to be optimistic and hope that he would be ready, but Hades has shown that he can and will attack at any time."

Viridi just handed over a bag to Palutena. "I made what you requested. Use it to make tea." She said. "You are a cruel and evil woman."

Palutena just nodded. "I know. I just hope that they will be able to forgive me."

"Spirit tea..." Viridi sighed. "If they live, they will be much stronger, but there will be so much excruciating pain, they may want to die instead."

"I know." Palutena replied. "Everyone you can stop now, we're going to take a break."

Everyone just collapsed, gasping for air. Magnus was a bit surprised that the 6 fighters were as exhausted as he was, if not more.

A centurion came around with large jugs of water, and they began to drink from it. Magnus figured that the water must of had some magical property to it, as he was instantly finding himself reenergized and ready for the next round.

A few minutes later Palutena approached them with a kettle. "Your training has been going well." She said.

"I'd say." Magnus laughed.

"Since you have been eating, drinking and bathing here, you've been exposed to much spiritual energy and your body is absorbing it and gaining a resistance to it." Palutena explained. "Not to mention that one time from when you wore the ring that Pit was in. But, I feel that even as fast as we're going, it's not fast enough. Hades can and will strike whenever he pleases, he isn't going to wait for someone to be strong enough to beat him, he will nip that in the bud before anyone is a legitimate threat."

Magnus just nodded. "And you have a way to speed up the training?"

"Yes." She replied as she poured seven tea cups. She just looked at Magnus and the six fighters. "This is spirit tea." She said.

"What?!" the six fighters said shocked.

Magnus just looked at her a bit confused. "Mind explaining what it is?"

Palutena just nodded. "It is made from plants that will open your chakra gates, and grant you a boost in spiritual power." She began. "However, it is extremely dangerous. If you drink this, you will be in excruciating pain for quite a while, and you may even die. Are you willing to take this risk?"

"Is this to fast track us?" Magnus asked.

Palutena just nodded. "You can naturally train and gain the resistance to my aura, but this would considerably cut your time down at least in half."

"Then I'm not interested." Magnus replied. "Sorry, but there are no shortcuts in training. Relying on such cheap tricks will just get you killed."

Palutena just nodded. "Very well then, if that is your choice. However the training will get much harder tomorrow. It will always be here to fall back on it."

She waved her hand and a protective barrier appeared around the spirit tea. It was then teleported away.

"Take a break." Palutena said. "We don't want you to overexert yourself. It might be best if you go relax in the sacred hot springs again."

Magnus just nodded. He got up and began to walk away the six fighters also got up and began to follow him. He just glanced at them. "You're not going to attack me when I'm resting in the hot springs again, right?" He asked.

"No, you misunderstood us..." One of the fighters said.

"Is that so?" Magnus wondered.

"For a human, we misjudged you." One of the fighters said.

"For a human you're not half bad."

"And for spirits, or whatever you guys are you're pretty good too." Magnus said. "So can I have your names?"

"Ansel."

"Aias."

"Castor."

"Priam."

"Lycus."

"Deimos."

"Well, I'm Magnus. I'll try to remember your names. Unfortunately names aren't my strong suit."

"I imagine as a mercenary you try not to get too attached to anyone." Aias said.

Magnus nodded in agreement. "Today's ally could be tomorrow's enemy. Or they could die in battle. Well, for right now, let's not talk about these things and just relax in the hot springs."

* * *

Tuesday, school was mostly boring with nothing of note happening. During class Noah was just day dreaming, he wished he was in the other world, going on adventure and fighting others. Despite all of the danger that he was exposed to, he couldn't help but think that it was exciting, and so much could happen. Thankfully the recess bell rang. All the students in his class got up and made their way outside for 15 brief moments of freedom.

Noah just looked around the school yard. He was currently trying to find a corner, or some spot with some shade, and wasn't too muddy to sit down and play his on 3DS. He turned around a corner and hid behind some stairs. He was ready to play some games, at least until he heard someone crying.

He traveled a bit further and saw a kid sitting down, leaning against the wall. He had rather short brown hair, and was dressed in jeans and a light spring jacket. "Hey, are you okay?" Noah asked.

The kid jolted up and was now staring at him, looking absolutely terrified. His eyes were currently red from crying. "No..." The kid muttered.

"What happened?"

"You wouldn't understand." He said.

"Someone once told me that it's better to just get it off of your chest." Noah said. "Trust me, okay?"

"Even if I told you, you wouldn't be able to help." He muttered.

"Maybe not, but, I might know something that can help, or we could go to the teachers..." Noah said. "Look, I'm Noah."

"Nathan." The kid muttered.

"Okay." Noah laughed. "I guess that's a start. Okay, so, are you going to tell me?"

"No..." Nathan muttered.

For the time being Noah felt that the kid wasn't going to change his mind. So, for right now he decided to return back to actually playing his 3DS. Since he had begun living at Alex's, Alex had said that all the games were fair game. Just if he was going to delete a save file ask him first. Since that was kind of impossible at the moment, he decided to just stick with some games that had multiple saves. Currently he was just playing a game of Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon.

Nathan just glanced over. "Oh, my brother has that game." He said.

"Ah, well, this isn't mine, I'm just borrowing it from a friend." Noah replied.

Nathan just nodded and then pulled out his own 3DS, and started to play. Currently he was playing a game of Pokemon Black 2. Noah couldn't help but glance at his screen and seeing what he was doing. Nathan wasn't afraid to answer any questions that Noah had, and was even showing off his team.

"Oh wow, you've got some really nice Pokemon." Noah said.

"Yeah!" Nathan said rather excited. "Although my big brother's are even better!"

"Is that so?" Noah laughed.

"Yeah, no matter what I fight him with he always wins." Nathan said. "My big brother never loses!"

"Ah, that's great." Noah said. "I wish I had a sibling I could play games with. But I'm an only child... So I just got friends."

"I sort of know that feeling." Nathan replied, now looking rather down. "He's my half brother, and he lives with his mother. I really only see him once a month."

"Oh." Noah said shocked. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"But the time I get to play with him is always great." Nathan said. "And there is the odd family gathering he comes to..."

"Sounds nice..." Noah said. For the first time he began to wonder about his extended family. Did they miss him, did they notice that he went missing after that whole ordeal and the memory altering.

"Hey, Noah!" Some voices said. Noah looked up and saw a few people from his class standing a few meters away.

"What do you want?" Noah asked.

"Do you have any idea who that is you're sitting beside?" One of them said.

Noah just glanced over to Nathan. His happy attitude had completely vanished, he just looked terrified now.

"His name is Nathan, why?" Noah asked.

"You know the person who went missing over the weekend? The wanted criminal?" One of them said.

Noah just blinked a few times rather confused. "Went missing? Wanted criminal?"

"You know that famous author's son."

Noah just continued to look confused, slowly the gears began to turn in his head. "Wait, author's son... You mean Alex?"

"Is that his name?" One of them said.

"I don't know." Another replied.

"Well anyways, that's his half brother."

Noah just glanced at Nathan, and suddenly everything clicked. "You're that Nathan?! But you look nothing alike... And... so that's why... and..." He just turned to face the group of three people. "Why are you here? If you're here to bully him leave now."

"What?"

"I said, if you're here to bully him leave now." Noah said, trying to call forth the most commanding voice he could, which really wasn't that much. He was actually rather afraid. The three of them were a bit bigger than him, and out numbered him. If they did anything, he wouldn't have a chance.

Perhaps if by dumb luck, the bell that ended recess rang. They just turned around to go into the school. Noah just breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Nathan. "Well, looks like we've got to go back to our own classes."

Nathan just nodded and was off.

Noah returned back to his own class and sat down. His mind now focusing on Nathan. He just pulled out the cell phone that Zoroark had given him, it was Alex's, and texted Zoroark.

"Hey, why didn't you tell me that his little brother went to the same school I did?" He texted.

The response was quick. He imagined Zoroark was either equally board, was skipping, or was using his illusions and could be actually dancing around at the front of the class while no one could notice him. "You never asked. Why?"

"Listen Zoroark... I think some kids were picking on him..." He typed.

"What? Master will be furious!"

"I can't do much since we're in different grades, but I can watch over him during recess."

"Please do." Zoroark replied. "For Master's sake."

"Okay." Noah texted back.

Perhaps it was a bit of boredom of listening to the teacher drone on in french. But his attention turned to Alex's phone. He just began to look through the photos. There wasn't a whole lot of interesting things there. There was the odd photo of a special edition version of a game, or a batch of games. That he assumed Alex had done to post online later. The odd photo of something in a store, and occasionally a photo that was saved off of the internet. But then he soon saw a selfie of Alex with Nathan. The two seemed rather happy.

* * *

School for Zoroark was boring, as usual.

He was walking through the halls, ready to go for his lunch period, when he was stopped in the halls by a girl. "Oh Nick, I'm so sorry about your brother."

"_You really aren't._" he thought, but he just replied with a simple: "Thank you for your concern."

Zoroark just slipped past them and made his way to the cafeteria to get some food. On his way out, a voice suddenly shouted. "Hey, Nick!" Waving from a table was Hayden, he was surrounded by his friends.

"You know who that is right?" One said.

"Yeah, his brother went missing." Hayden replied. "I knew him from a few classes a few years ago."

Zoroark just sat down at the table with them. "It's been a while, so how are you holding up?"

"Okay, I think." Zoroark replied.

"Well if you need anything, just let me know." Hayden said.

Zoroark nodded, he quickly created an illusion around them. "I doubt you called me over to have lunch."

"Well, I was looking for you yesterday but couldn't find you." Hayden replied. "We need to meet up at the Smash Mansion after school, I received word that something happened yesterday."

"Okay." Zoroark replied. He broke the illusion and returned to eating his lunch. When he was done he just pulled out his cell phone. "If you excuse me, I need to make a call."

He just got up and left the cafeteria. If he had his times correct, Noah's lunch recess should have all ready started.

* * *

Noah quickly found Nathan again at Lunch and just sat beside him. "Hopefully they won't be bothering us again."

Nathan just nodded.

"So, you're his brother." Noah said.

"He's innocent." Nathan said. "He would never do that stuff that they said he did."

"I know." Noah replied. "This is his copy..." Noah just pointed at the Luigi's Mansion cartridge.

Nathan let out a gasp of shock before asking "How do you know my brother?"

"It's a long story." Noah sighed. "And one I don't exactly think I'm all too sure if I should share out here, where someone could be listening..."

Alex's phone began to ring. The ring tone was a wild pokemon battle from Pokemon Red and Blue. Noah looked at the caller display and it said Zoroark. Noah asked. "What is it?"

"Are you with Nathan?"

"Yeah."

"Hand me over to him."

Noah just glanced over. Nathan was staring at him rather intently. "It's for you." He said.

"Hey Nick!" Nathan said into it. "Why does this guy have Alex's phone?"

Noah tried to listen in. He imagined that Zoroark was explaining the situation as best as he could. There was very few responses from Nathan beyond the odd 'okay', and 'uh-huh.'

"Well, I think I got it, I'll keep my mouth shut then." Nathan said.

He then handed the phone back to Noah. "Okay, I've got the phone again." Noah said.

"Just watch over him, okay." Zoroark said.

"I'll do my best." Noah said. He hung up the phone, and quickly turned it to vibrate.

The two of them just played on their 3DS' for a while, until they heard several footsteps walking towards them. They turned their heads and looked over to see a group of five others. The three had gotten two others.

"Noah." One said. "You're with him again."

"Leave, this instant." Noah said.

"Or what?"

"I'll make all five of you leave." Noah replied.

They laughed, unable to take Noah seriously.

"This is your last warning." Noah said.

"And what are you going to do Noah?"

Noah just glared at them, and he had absorbed Lucas' power. Inside he could feel Lucas' presence.

"So this is what a fusion is like." He heard Lucas say in his head. "I see, and that's what's going on."

"Sorry." Noah replied. "I just want to keep them away."

"Well that's easy." Lucas replied.

Noah just stretched out his hand. "And what's that going to do?" One asked.

Noah just looked at them. "Leave." He repeated.

"And you're not going to make us!" One shouted, rushing towards them. However they soon hit an invisible wall. "What the?!"

The others approached, and confirmed for themselves that there was something there.

"What did you do?"

"Leave." Noah repeated.

After pounding on the invisible wall for several minutes, and realizing they couldn't get in, they just turned around and left.

"What did you do?" Nathan asked.

"_Well, I'll explain it like this._" Noah replied telepathically. "_Your brother is innocent. I'm working with him to try and prevent a disaster. However there are those who are working against us, and that's why he's a wanted criminal. All we know is that your brother is alive, however we don't know where he is. As for what I did, well, it was a psychic barrier. They were trapped outside it, and we were on the inside. I'm just glad that we managed to solve this in a non violent way._"

"_But I'm afraid even that will have negative consequences._" Lucas thought. "_I mean, maybe they might go and tell someone about this._"

_"There's no way they can prove it right?_" Noah thought.

"_I hope._" Lucas sighed.

The rest of the lunch recess was uneventful. Eventually it ended and Noah was back in the classroom. He could feel the occasional glance. There was also a spitball that seemed to make his way towards him. After the third spitball, he merged with Lucas again, and just stopped the spitball in the air and sent it right back at the attacker.

It was small and petty, but it was about the only thing he could do at the moment.

Eventually the final recess began. Before he was able to get to Nathan's hiding spot, he was cut off by the five of them.

They had quickly surrounded Noah. He just looked at them, and sighed. "We're really going to do it this way, aren't we?"

He had absorbed Lucas, and just began to dodge them. They threw rather clumsy punches, which was no problem for Noah to constantly dodge. The fight was also beginning to draw in a lot of attention. But it wasn't long until the teachers had managed to break them up, and take the five offending students away.

Noah just rushed to his and Nathan's hiding spot. "Sorry about that, I was a little bit late." Noah laughed. "I didn't expect them to ambush me."

Nathan just nodded, and they sat together in silence for a few minutes. Eventually Nathan spoke up.

"I really wanted to see my brother this weekend." Nathan said. "My mom doesn't like him for some reason. She's always calling him names. Stuff like freak and monster. She doesn't want me around him."

Noah just nodded. "He's a really nice guy." Noah said. "For what he's done for me, the least I can do is help his little brother."

Soon they once again had to return to class.

After school, Hayden and Zoroark met up with Noah and informed him of what was happening. And they departed to the Smash Mansion to see what was up.

* * *

Zoroark, Noah, Hayden, Oren, Marco, Rune and Echo were just looking on in shock. The orange haired kid, was just shackled to a chair, chains were wrapped around him so that he couldn't move. Sitting by his side was Lucas. "It was that person who was piloting the Mechon!" Noah shouted in shock pointing at Claus.

"What happened?" Zoroark asked.

Claus just looked up at them, acknowledging their existence.

"Um, well..." Lucas began. He just explained what had transpired the previous day. "And that's that's what happened..."

"Really?" Hayden said a bit uncomfortable.

Lucas just nodded. "Yes."

"Geeze, I really don't like this..." Hayden muttered.

"And have you been here the whole time?" Noah wondered.

"Yeah, since I could be with him, I haven't left his side." Lucas admitted. "Even when you were calling me and we merged."

"I see..."

"And he's been rather quiet too." Wolf growled. "He was nice and talkative while talking to Lucas yesterday, but since then, he's just been silent."

"Gee, I wonder why." Hayden muttered.

"Ah well, we'll get the information out of him, one way or another." Wolf laughed, reaching for a knife that was held on his belt.

Lucas just glared at Wolf. "You will do no such thing." Lucas snapped.

Wolf just laughed. "Oh, so you do have a bit of fight in you. Whatever, you can't be conscious all the time, and when that happens, we'll take over."

Oren just looked around nervously. "Is this really how the Smashers operate?" He wondered.

"Unfortunately, we're at war." Pit replied. "And a commander of Hades' forces is right here. If we can get information from him, and end this crisis of our worlds fusing together sooner rather than later, I think we would all take that option."

"And you're just allowing this to happen?" Zoroark growled.

"I never said I liked it." Pit replied. "I'd like it if he told us everything, but he's just been silent since we captured him."

"I think they made the right move." A voice said. They all turned to see Lily approaching. In her arms was Kirby. "All we know is that he's an enemy. And we don't know what he's capable of. Actually, no, that's a lie. The Masked Man, the commander of the Pigmask Army. Created from Claus, the twin brother of Lucas. One of the strongest and most deadly opponents in the game."

There was just silence.

"Of course, there does appear to be differences too." Lily pointed out. "For one, the Masked Man in the game was a soulless robot. This one appears to have a personality. This could simply be a front, and he's still our enemy."

"Please stop..." Lucas cried.

Lily just nodded. "If this was the only thing I needed to see, I'm going back to my room." She just turned and left.

Walking into the room soon after was Dark Pit. He just looked around at the chosen champions a bit confused. "Who are half of these people." He muttered. He just turned his attention to Claus. "Hey brat. I'm going to go fight Hades again, you want to tell me his weakness?"

Claus just snorted. "You think you can beat him?" Claus laughed.

"Yeah, I think I can and will." Dark Pit replied.

"I'm surprised you lived through your first encounter with Hades." Claus laughed. "He knew you were coming. You idiots walked right into the trap."

Dark Pit just grabbed Claus by the shirt.

"I will beat you." Dark Pit snapped.

"Hah!" Claus laughed. "Sure you speak big now, when your opponent is just some person who's chained to a chair and can't move."

"You little snot!" Dark Pit shouted. He raised up his fist, however Lucas just grabbed his hand.

"And why are you protecting him!?" Dark Pit asked. "He doesn't even know who you are! Why don't you just see it for what it is! Hades is toying with you."

He let go of Claus and just turned around to storm angrily out of the room.

Wolf was a bit annoyed. "Oh, so you talk for him. But what about us!?"

Claus just stuck out his tongue at Wolf. This just annoyed him further. However he was just dragged out of the room by Pit. "It should be obvious." Pit said. "It's because Pittoo isn't a Smasher."

The Chosen Champions stared in shock, but eventually felt like it was best if they left too.

"I don't like this." Rune said.

"Same." Marco added on.

"What choice do we have?" Oren wondered.

Hayden just glanced back at the room where Claus was currently being held. "We return back to our world for right now." He replied. "We can't free him... And he probably won't talk to us. I think it's best if Lucas and Claus are left alone, and they talk it out. Maybe that's the best way to get information out of him."

"Should I stay behind since he's my Smasher?" Noah wondered.

"No." Zoroark replied. "We should just return and wait..."

Reluctantly they made their way back to their world.

* * *

Claus was woken up by someone entering into the room. It was extremely dark, so a normal person couldn't see, but his robotic eye could still see the heat that the person was emitting. He just stared straight at the person.

"Oh, come to finish me off now?"

A gun was just pointed right at him, a few seconds later it fired, however it broke the chains that were holding him down. Claus just looked confused at the person. "What?!"

"Get out of here while you still have the chance." He replied, putting away the gun.

"Why are you doing this?" Claus asked.

"I'm not a Smasher. They don't have power over me." The person, Dark Pit, said. "Besides, it was your brother who begged me to save you."

Claus just froze. "I don't even know if what he said is true, if he is my brother. Why are you doing this, the Smashers could hunt you down for this."

Dark Pit just shrugged. "I have my reasons." He replied.

"I was perfectly content with staying here!" Claus replied. "Lord Hades would rescue me!"

"You think that he would do that?" Dark Pit laughed. "The Hades I know would abandon dead weight, and if you were unable to get out by yourself, you're pretty much dead weight! I'm also pretty sure he saw this."

"I could have gotten out any time I chose." Claus bluntly said. He held up the chain and then a small spark of electricity just cut through it. "I just wanted to see if they were willing to say any more information!"

Dark Pit just laughed. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, kid. Although, I'd start considering that you're on probation with Hades and any more screw ups might bring an end to your employment, and your life. Now come on, we need to both get out of here."

"Fine, but the first sign of trouble and you holding me back, you're on your own." Claus replied.

"Same." Dark Pit replied.

They just began to sneak through the mansion. Dark Pit had already prepared for it, and had unleashed an angelic hymn that lulled most of the Smashers into a deep sleep. For right now, they were the only two in the mansion who were conscious.

But Dark Pit knew it wasn't going to last very long.

Thankfully they made it out of the Mansion and began to progress towards the forest.

"Pittoo!" A voice shouted. Dark Pit turned around to see Pit jumping down from a window. He was glaring at his copy and was completely serious. "Why did you do that?"

"I didn't feel right about a kid being chained up." Dark Pit said. "Don't you dare get on a high horse and lecture me, I know you better than anyone else, and you don't feel right about it either."

"You're right, I don't, but he was dangerous and the commander in the Underworld army's forces." Pit pointed out. "He was cooperating with us! And came peacefully! He could have given us information to end this!"

"Whatever." Dark Pit said rather dismissively. "I'm not a Smasher. And I have no intention on becoming one if it means following your stupid rules like this."

Pit just raised up his bow and aimed it right at Dark Pit.

"Do you think you can do that?" Dark Pit asked. "I know you can't take both of us on." He just glanced at Claus. "Go now, while I have him distracted."

"What about you?" Claus asked.

Dark Pit shrugged. "It doesn't matter too much. He won't be able to hurt me. But if others come, they will overwhelm me and capture you again."

Claus just nodded and dashed off into the forest.

Dark Pit just rushed for Pit, and punched him in the stomach, winding him. "You didn't even try to block that." Dark Pit said.

"Just go, get out of here." Pit said.

"What?" Dark Pit said shocked.

"Start running Pittoo, and never stop." Pit said. "Not even to eat or sleep, you're going to be hunted down by the Smashers now!"

"So you do care about me." Dark Pit said. "Whatever, fine."

Dark Pit just began to walk away, disappearing into the forest. A few moments later Master Hand and a few Smashers had rushed out, seeing Pit on the ground.

"What happened, where's the prisoner and Dark Pit?" Master Hand asked.

"The prisoner got away, Dark Pit fled too." Pit replied. "I tried to stop Pittoo... But he fought back."

"Should we send a search party?" Wolf wondered.

Master Hand just floated there. "Yes, they couldn't have gotten to far. Bring them back!"

"Fine by me." Wolf laughed. He just ran into the forest after them. However a few seconds later Wolf went flying out, and skidding across the ground. Pit just looked up in shock. "What the hell was that?!"

"An angelic arte." Pit replied.

"A what?" Wolf asked.

"Pittoo, trapped us inside a barrier!" Pit replied.

Master Hand just floated forwards until he came in contact with the barrier. As soon as he touched it the air began to ripple. Master Hand just let off a small chuckle. "Pit, how long will it take you to break this?" Master Hand asked.

Pit looked a bit shocked. "I don't know. Pittoo's Angelic Artes have a tendency to be a bit unconventional."

"Figure it out and break it as soon as you can." Master Hand ordered.

Pit just nodded.

* * *

Dark Pit had caught up to Claus, and they were now taking a break near a pond in the forest. "We should be fine for a while." Dark Pit said. "I had been planning this for a day, so... I had some time to prepare something that they should only now be figuring out about."

Claus just sighed. "They'll only be after you. Once I return to Hades, they won't be able to get to me."

"But that's just the thing." Dark Pit laughed. "You're not going to be able to return to Hades." He pulled out his staff and aimed it directly at Claus' head. "I'm here to make sure you don't go back. So, we're going to be stuck together and become best friends."

Claus just laughed. "Ha! And how are you going to manage that?"

From Dark Pit's hands came some chains that just rushed towards Claus, and wrapped around him. They glowed with a bright light and a moment later, they had transformed into handcuffs with a large chain. "That's how." Dark Pit replied. "Sorry, I had a day to figure all this out. We're stuck together for quite a while."

"And what does this accomplish now?" Claus wondered, looking at the handcuff around his wrist.

"For one, you'll always be within 5 meters of me." Dark Pit replied.

"Great, I don't even get any privacy in the washroom." Claus sighed. "So what do you gain out of this?"

"We'll, we're just going to become the best of friends, and you're going to tell me how to beat Hades." Dark Pit replied.

Claus laughed. "Come on, you know he can't be beaten by just yourself."

"Which is why you're going to help me." Dark Pit replied.

"Even if I wanted to, you should know that Hades would have made sure I would never be able to attack him." Claus said.

"Then I'll break his spell." Dark Pit said.

Claus just laughed. "Good luck with that."

Dark Pit just began to walk away, and Claus was soon finding himself being dragged. "Come on, I don't know how long Pit is going to stall, we're going to need a large head start."

Reluctantly Claus followed.

* * *

When Noah got to school on Wednesday, he was in for a rude awakening. As usual he was dropped off about a block away from the school by Zoroark, and then Zoroark went on his way.

Noah made his way onto the school grounds and just began to try and find some shade so he could play some games.

However, approaching him from six different directions was six adults in suits. "Noah, on Tuesday it was reported at about 1:45PM that you had used a mysterious power to create a barrier, and keep five people away from yourself and another child."

"You are coming with us." Another said. "Any and all resistance will be perceived as a threat, and will be dealt with accordingly."

Noah could feel the stares of all the other students. "I knew I should have stayed at home today." Noah sighed.

He was trying to gain Lucas' powers to fight back, but something was wrong, he couldn't fuse with Lucas. He just looked around a bit confused. He considered reaching for his pocket to get the cell phone and text Zoroark, perhaps he would be able to make it back in time. But he realized that he wouldn't even be able to send a text message before they were on top of him.

"Fine." He sighed defeated. "I'll come peacefully. Just, there's one thing I want to know before we leave. How did you know?"

"We had an agent planted and watching Alex's brother." One said. "We expected his allies would approach him and we were correct."

"I see..." Noah said. "Why wasn't that agent stopping him from being bullied?"

"That wasn't the agent's mission."

Noah just looked down rather defeated. "I see, let's go then, and get this over with." They just began to escort him away.

They were however stopped by a man who was dressed in rather baggy clothes, and it looked like he hadn't shaved in a week. He just finished yawning and looking at the six people in suits. "It's far too early in the morning for this shit." He yawned again. "How do you kids do it?"

"Public Enemy Number 1 has appeared!" One of them said into a microphone.

He just walked forwards, paying no mind to the six guards. He just stretched out his hand. "I don't think we've been formally introduced Noah. I'm public enemy number 1: Nugai."

Noah just looked at Nugai in shock.

One of the agents had pulled out a baton and swung it right for Nugai's back, however a sword in a scabbard appeared in Nugai's hand blocking the attack. "Oh, Anti Aura and other anti barrier weapons." Nugai laughed. "You guys came prepared."

"What are you doing here?" Noah asked.

"Eh, I was just passing by." Nugai shrugged.

"Liar." All six of the guards said at the same time.

Nugai just sighed. "It really is. It's like Schrodinger's cat. I can be anywhere at any time..." Nugai muttered. "If I'm not here, I'm there. Now then, might I suggest leaving this kid alone."

"It's his fault for agreeing to participate with you and your Smashers." One said. "You who oppose us, and the way that the world is supposed to be."

"The way the world is supposed to be?" Nugai laughed. "I think you're mistaken. You're the ones who are messing with it." He just turned to Noah, stretched out his arm, and suddenly a bubble appeared around him. A moment later the bubble disappeared. Nugai just turned his attention back to the six guards. "He's gone, where you can't reach him. I suggest you leave, I don't want to have to fight you."

"Well, it's too late for that." Several laughed.

Nugai just glanced at all the children that were watching. "If we have to fight, can we do this elsewhere?" Nugai said. "I don't want anyone to possibly get caught in the cross fire."

"If it's that you're worried about." One said snapping his fingers. Four of them pulled out boxes and they tossed them. From the boxes, energy shot out and created a barrier, separating them them from the kids.

Nugai just looked around. "How tricky..." He chuckled. "So you can do this..." His body felt a little bit more sluggish, and there was a constant feeling of pressure on him. Such a thing wasn't unusual. Strong monsters let off an energy, and claimed the area as their own domain. Nugai figured it was the same principle. They would be strengthened, he would be weakened, and the kids would be kept out.

"Very well." Nugai said. "Let's begin."

All six of them rushed for him with blinding speed. Nugai just let off a small sigh. A moment later all six of them were knocked unconscious, and Nugai hadn't even lifted a finger. He walked over to the edge of the barrier, and destroyed three of the machines before taking the fourth one for himself.

He waved his hand and a few permanent markers appeared. He just began to draw on several of their faces, figuring he might as well have some fun. After he was done with that Nugai closed his eyes and tried to find someone else. Within a few seconds he did and just walked past the confused and scared children.

"Hey, you can't be here!" A teacher said. "Leave this instant or we'll call the police."

Nugai just ignored them and continued on his path through the school yard. Eventually he walked up to Nathan who was surrounded by kids in higher grades. "Get away from him." Was all Nugai said, and they fled in terror. Nugai just sat down in front of Nathan and just ruffled his hair. "Hey, are you all right? Do you remember me?"

Nathan looked up at Nugai and just looked a bit shocked. "Andrew?" Much to the dismay of his mother, Alex had brought Nathan to the insane asylum once to see Nugai.

"Yeah." Nugai said. "Listen, your brother is innocent. And I'm going to find him, okay."

He looked up at Nugai and just smiled.

"Now then, I better get going, okay." Nugai said. "I'll see you around. And don't let anyone else bother you, okay?"

"Okay Andrew."

Nugai stretched out his hand, in it appeared an Aura Sphere that he put into Nathan. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe if something happens." He said before disappearing.

A moment later, Nugai appeared on the roof of the school building.

"I'm to assume you're the one that was sent by Zenith to watch over Nathan, and the one who reported Noah?" He asked.

Standing right by the edge of the building was a child.

He glanced back at Nugai. "And I thought I had disguised my presence rather well."

"For a normal person, yeah, they would have never detected you." Nugai replied. "So, mind telling me why you are letting him being bullied."

"That's not in my orders." The Child replied.

"Well, here's your new orders. You're going to watch him, and protect him with your life." Nugai said. "You will stop any one else from bullying him. And if you don't." Nugai just simply began to lift up his hand. Suddenly the child felt the full extent of Nugai's power. "You will answer to me, and face my wrath."

Nugai just turned around and disappeared.

* * *

"That's enough resting, we need to get going." Dark Pit said.

Claus just opened his eyes, and began to stand up. "Really?" He muttered. "Why, they're trapped inside that barrier."

"I imagine that Master Hand will make Pit break it soon, as he's the only one who can figure out my work." Dark Pit replied. "He might be able to stall for a day or two, but that's about it."

Claus just sighed. "Fine, but do you have any idea where to go?"

"I have a few things planned." Dark Pit replied. "I was thinking a nice island vacation."

Claus just scoffed at the suggestion. "I thought you wanted us to find a way to kill Hades."

"Yeah, and that's my plan." Dark Pit replied. "I need new materials to create my next batch of Angelic Artes. And this place should have something. Pure Light Energy."

"Fine." Claus said. "So where are we going?"

"Isle Delfino."

* * *

Nugai had teleported in front of an apartment. He just hit a buzzer, and waited several seconds before hitting the buzzer again.

"Who is this?" A rather cranky sounding woman said.

"You know exactly who it is." Nugai replied. "And I'm here to talk to you."

"Well, I don't want to talk to you, you asshole." She replied.

The next moment, Nugai had teleported into the apartment building. "Well tough luck. You're going to have to talk to me today."

"You jackass! I'm calling the police. You're breaking and entering."

"Really, I'm just entering. It's not my fault I can pass through concrete matter, so everything is an open door to me."

"I hate you." She said.

"Believe me, the feeling is mutual." Nugai just looked at the woman. "Listen, I don't think we ever really got along." He said.

"Damn right, you crazy asshole!" She replied by pulling out a gun.

"I don't know the full details, about you and my uncle, and to be honest, I don't care." Nugai said. "However, I do care about my cousin. And Nathan was being severely bullied by some older kids because of what's going on."

"And?"

"Don't play stupid with me." Nugai said. "I know you're apart of Zenith. And, he's still your child isn't he? Even if you don't love my uncle, and just infiltrated our family for whatever reason to try and watch me. I know that you have people in the school watching, and looking for signs of the other chosen champions. Or for the event that Alex comes to see his brother. The least you could do is order them to watch over him so he isn't bullied. Which seems to be a bit harder now that you guys have reported the one person who was looking after him."

"Get out." She said, cocking the gun. "It's all your fault... You and that freak's... I'm glad he's lost in the games! Maybe he will never come back!"

Nugai just sighed. "Fine." He said. "It was pointless to talk to you anyways..." He just disappeared.

* * *

Nugai reappeared in the Smash Mansion. Specifically in Master Hand's office. The giant hand was floating behind a desk. "Nugai, what do I owe this pleasure to?"

Nugai just snapped his fingers and the bubble with Noah in it appeared. A moment later the bubble popped, and Noah landed safely on the ground. "Noah's identity had been compromised on the other end." Nugai sighed. "So, he has to stay here permanently."

Master Hand just floated there, "Looks like I don't have a choice. However, when things return to normal, he will have to go back to school right?"

Nugai just nodded. "I guess."

"Well then, he will have to attend a school here in this world." Master Hand said.

"What?!" Noah said rather annoyed.

"Don't worry about it. Ness and the other kid Smashers will be there with you." Master Hand explained.

"I hope so. I really didn't want to go back to school anyways..." He sighed.

"Sorry kid, unfortunately it's a necessary evil." Nugai said. "But I know exactly how you feel. I had to endure it once too. Now if you excuse me, I have to go see Zoroark. His day going about as well as yours."

* * *

Zoroark's Wednesday wasn't particularly any better. He was honestly considering just skipping the day, not even knowing why he put forth the effort to get to the school. At least until he got to his locker, and found a note inside it addressed directly to him.

_April 16, 2014,_

_Zoroark, I know who you are are, and I want to meet you. There will be a fire drill today at about 10:30, during that meet me on the roof of the school. If you don't, well, things are going to get ugly, let's just say it won't exactly be a drill. Also, don't tell anyone._

Zoroark looked a bit nervous and quickly crumpled up the letter. He made his way to his classes, and as told at about 10:35 there was a fire drill. The students all got up and began to walk through the halls. Slipping away through the crowds was no problem for Zoroark and his illusions. He just made his way to the roof, and waiting for him there as a single person.

"And to what do I owe this honor?" Zoroark asked.

The person just stood there with his back facing Zoroark, he was looking down at the crowd of people forming below. "Why are you still here?" He asked. "Alex is gone, lost in the games. You'll never see him again."

"You're from Zenith aren't you?" Zoroark asked, not even skipping a beat.

"Yeah."

Zoroark held his nails in front of him, and his claws glowed with a dark aura. "Good. You have no idea how frustrated and badly I want to tear someone up right now." He said.

"Please, you think you can do that?" The person laughed. "Imagine what would people thing when they see us up here fighting. And more or less you trying to kill the student council president."

Zoroark just continued to glare at him. "I don't care." Zoroark replied.

"Clearly, you didn't recognize me." He sighed. "Well, let's begin. Your stupid master got lost in the games."

An illusion spread from Zoroark, covering the entire roof of the school. No one would be able to see him fight and tear this person apart.

"Stupid illusions, don't bother with trying to use them on me." He sighed. "You see, I can see through illusions. In fact, I was sent specifically to hunt you down."

"Me?" Zoroark asked.

"We knew that you would be coming to this world, that you would be there. But when we went to intercept and find you... there was no trace. It seems like someone else got to you first. Since then, I've been searching for a Zoroark, imagine my surprise when I found you enrolled in a school."

"Who are you?" Zoroark asked.

"You can call me by the name I adopted for this mission, Ryan."

Zoroark just rushed towards him. Ryan jumped back to avoid several quick slashes from Zoroark and just sighed. "I was never able to act because of your stupid master." Ryan said. "But when you both disappear."

"I won't die." Zoroark said. "I won't disappear, I won't let you do what you want, because when Master gets back, he will need someone to be there for him."

"Oh, how optimistic, he may be dead!"

Zoroark just nodded. "He may be." He said. "But he might not be. Master is strong, if he's still alive I believe he will find his way back here. And I will be here to greet him!"

"I don't understand!" Ryan shouted. "Why is everything going so differently than what we saw? You, the Chosen Champions were different! What's going on!?"

"What do you mean everything's different?" Zoroark asked.

"Oh, like I'm going to tell you." Ryan sneered.

"Then I will," A voice said. Ryan and Zoroark just turned, sitting there on the roof eating a sandwich was Nugai. He just quickly finished the sandwich and then pulled out a metal nail that he had concealed somewhere.

"What? But you're supposed to be imprisoned."

"Yeah, about that." Nugai sighed. "You know the saying that 'the world's your oyster', how it means you have the freedom to go anywhere and everywhere you choose? That's me." Nugai just walked forwards. "Anyways, what they meant Zoroark was that they can peer into parallel universes."

"The Morophogenetic field?" Zoroark asked.

Nugai just nodded. "Yep, that would be the best way to describe it, I guess. Zenith has people who can peer into parallel worlds. With an ability like that, you're just playing chess, with the advantage of having seen everyone's moves. With that you can easily counter them, and stop them, if you know what's coming, victory will easily be yours."

Zoroark just nodded. "So, they knew that I would come into this world?"

Nugai just nodded. "In a parallel world, a Zoura appeared in the woods one day. It evolved into Zoroark and attacked someone, authorities were sent, and the hostile fox was shot and killed."

Zoroark just gulped in some air in fear.

"In other worlds, Zenith knew about that Zoura appearing and was able to intercept it, and able to find connections to the other world." Nugai said. "But in this one, you were found by my cousin before they could get there. Likewise, Zenith could access the Morphogenetic Field and see into parallel worlds, they could find out who the chosen champions were and stop them from fighting against them through various methods. Ryan, tell me, you're familiar with Sun Tzu, right?"

"Author of the Art of War." Ryan replied.

"'The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.' and 'if you know your enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.'" Nugai said. "I'd say Zenith embodied those quotes quite well. Striking before the Chosen Champions could be chosen, working on everything, knowing about almost every single possibility before acting, how could anyone fight against them?"

"By being a possibility that they haven't seen or experienced before?" Zoroark replied.

"Exactly." Nugai replied. He waved the nail in the air. "Have you heard the poem 'for the want of a nail?'"

"No." Zoroark replied.

"It's about how the smallest things can have large consequences." Nugai replied. "In a simple battle how the lack of a horseshoe nail caused the kingdom to fall."

Ryan just scoffed. "So what."

"For the student council president as well as a member of Zenith, you sure are dumb." Nugai sighed.

"Oh shut up." Ryan snapped. "You can't do anything! We've all ready won!"

"Is that why you're here at this school?" Nugai laughed. "Is that why they sent Agent Tei to look after my cousin, and several other agents after my other family members? Zenith is downright terrified. Because, I'm that nail that has altered everything and has changed the world from what you've seen!"

"You are so full of yourself!" Ryan shouted. He rushed for Nugai, who just stood perfectly still. Before a punch or anything could be thrown, Ryan just was frozen in air. Nugai was just tossing up the metal nail and catching it. He then glanced at Ryan.

"I want you to tell Zenith that I've escaped, that the person they're watching in prison is nothing more than a body double." Nugai said. "If they don't believe you, they will when they execute him and find that it was just a wire frame. Tell them that I'm ready to fight back fully, and I'll stop them from their plans no matter what! Tell them that the first nail has been hammered into their coffin!"

Nugai threw the nail right into Ryan's leg, it pierced it, and was lodged inside. He just fell down to the ground and let out a whimper.

"And I'll be waiting for all the assassins they try to send my way. Good bye." Nugai said walking away to the door.

Zoroark just stood there. "It seems like Nugai has let you live and you have a job to do." He said rather disappointed. "I guess I won't get to tear you limb from limb."

Ryan just laughed. "I'll do his stupid job and we can meet up here during the next fire drill." He muttered. "I'll send you a reminder then."

Zoroark just laughed. "Fine." He said, walking away, and going back to his school day. At least, he would of, he fully expected for Nugai to disappear, but he was still hanging around for some reason.

"I figure you wanted to talk." Nugai said.

"I guess a bit, I do have questions." Zoroark said.

"Well then, come on." Nugai said. He just snapped his fingers and the two disappeared. They reappeared in a forest clearing where it quickly became apparent that this was Nugai's current base of operations. A tent was put up and there appeared to be some security measures that he had, a string with cans hanging from it to make sound in the event of any intruders, along with a barrier beyond that.

"Why didn't you just hide out at the cottage?" Zoroark asked.

"Because, they would be expecting that." Nugai replied. "It's quite simple, you know. I fully expect that they're watching it."

"I guess." Zoroark replied.

"So, what all did you want to talk about?" Nugai asked.

"Alex's mother called the other night, looking for answers and what happened."

"What did you tell her?"

"That he just hasn't been home." Zoroark replied. "She took that to mean that he just needed some time by himself, away from everything."

Nugai nodded. "That's good. The less she knows, the better."

"But, then she told me that Alex was adopted." Zoroark said. "And Master never mentioned that..."

Nugai just nodded. "Yeah." He said. "He is."

"You knew?!" Zoroark said shocked.

"Yeah, of course I knew." Nugai replied. "I'm the oldest cousin on that side of the family. My aunt was sterile and couldn't conceive. So, they adopted. I was what, 8, when he was born, and I was old enough, and the family seemed to frequently see each other, that I was able to notice that my aunt never went through the stages of pregnancy and suddenly they had a baby. And when I asked my parents, they explained to me that he was adopted, and that I should treat him just like any other cousin, and that I should never tell him, because it should be his parents that tell him and all that, and if I ever told him that there would be severe consequences."

Zoroark just looked at Nugai in shock. "I see." He said.

"Still, that doesn't matter. I've treated him just the same as I did any other cousin. I guess there might have been some slight favoritism towards him because I felt sorry for him, for his parent's divorce but, he's just always been my little cousin, just because he's adopted doesn't mean that we can't care for each other." Nugai said. "As far as I'm concerned, even if we're not related by blood, he's still family."

Zoroark just nodded. "Then I guess I shouldn't tell Master this when we find him."

"Probably not," Nugai replied. "I'm sure his Mother wanted to tell him, but because of the divorce, at that moment she probably thought he couldn't handle it, especially since that was during his sick spell. And then she's always away on her book tours..."

Zoroark just nodded. "Nathan called as well. He was wondering about his big brother."

Nugai just nodded. "They're still close. I was afraid that Nathan's crazy psycho bitch mother would influence the kid, but thankfully that seems like it wasn't the case. Either that or she mellowed out since the first time I saw her. But a recent experience leaves me doubting that possibility."

"It's also the third weekend of the month." Zoroark sighed. "He was supposed to come over this weekend. We were supposed to take him with us to a convention next month... I guess all those plans are getting canceled."

Nugai just nodded. "Yeah, there's not a whole lot you can do then..."

"And even when he get's back, what am I supposed to tell him? How much everything has changed in the past week?"

"I say we cross that bridge when we get to it." Nugai replied. "I've been looking for him. I haven't been able to find a trace... But I'm positive that he's still alive."

"How can you tell?" Zoroark asked.

Nugai just pulled out a Smash Pendant along with two small cards. On one was written 'Yes' on the other 'No'. "Is Alex, my cousin, still alive?" Nugai asked. Suddenly the Smash pendant had a flame inside of it light up and point to the yes card.

"It's looking for him." Nugai replied. "And I've been looking for him to the best of my ability."

* * *

Nugai just walked through the front door of the shop. In his hands was a steel briefcase.

He looked around, games were everywhere, they lined the walls, and were just stacked across tables. It was a mess. Currently some old midi music was playing on some speakers across the store. A glance at the computer behind the counter showed that it was currently a compilation of the "top 100 best N64 songs." Currently playing the oddly fitting shop music from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. There were a few people around a table, currently playing a game of Magic the Gathering. One got up and approached him.

"Welcome, have you been here before?" The person asked.

"No." Nugai replied.

"Well I'll give you a quick tour." the person said. He just began to explain where each and every system's games were located. Which you could easily tell if you actually used your eyes, and explained that they also sold Magic cards. "Were you looking for anything in particular?"

"Yeah, sadly the thing is, I don't know what it is yet." Nugai replied. "I'll know it when I see it." He just had the Smash Pendant currently wrapped around one of his fingers. His fingers just brushed each and every game in the store, hoping for a reaction from the Smash Pendant.

He went through binders that housed some loose Game Boy, Game Boy Advanced, and DS games. But still nothing.

"Are these all the games you have?" Nugai asked.

"Well, there are some games in the trade only section." the person replied.

"Trade only?" Nugai questioned.

"Well, I just don't want to only have copies of sports games, you know." The person replied.

"Ah, I see." Nugai replied. "Oh?!" Nugai just walked over to a case, and inside it was some reproduction carts. "You even have reproduction carts."

"Yes, a local person makes them."

There were copies of games that were never released in North America, such as Terranigma. Hacks of Super Mario World, and Super Metroid. Even a repo cart of Mother 3, and EarthBound Zero.

Nugai ran his fingers over them, but the Smash Pendant didn't react. He let off a frustrated sigh. Nugai just looked at the person. "Can I see your trade only section?" He asked. He just put the briefcase on the table, and opened it. Inside was some 'bargaining tools.' Copies of some rather rare and sought after games. Cubivore, Fire Emblem Path of Radiance, EarthBound, Skies of Arcadia Legends.

For Nugai, he could always just copy and paste to get a new copy. But to the shop keeper, he just saw always sought after merchandise. Nugai almost felt bad about screwing him over, and increasing the amount of copies made in the world potentially destroying the value, but right now he was more concerned with finding his cousin.

He took him back to a shelf that was in the back. "Please let me know if you see anything."

Nugai just brushed his hand over the various games, waiting and hoping for the pendant to react. But there was nothing. "I'm sorry." He apologized. "But there doesn't appear to be anything. Is there any other games you have?"

"Well, there is what's in storage, but I can't lock up the shop right now to go there."

Nugai nodded. He would go there himself later. "Do you have a list of games in stock in storage?"

"No, I'm sorry."

Mentally, Nugai was screaming that, that was an extremely stupid idea, and you should catalog your stock. But all he managed to say was, "I see, thank you for your time."

"Is there really nothing you wanted?" He said. "If you know the name of it, I could help you find it."

"I'm sorry." Nugai replied. "Unfortunately, I don't know the name, I only know that I'll know it when I see it. If that makes any sense."

* * *

"I went to every game store in this city, trying to find out what game he's lost in. But it didn't point to any of the games in any of the stores, so he was in a game they didn't have, and that just made things more complicated."

"How so?" Zoroark asked.

"Well for one, one store didn't have a catalog of all the games in stock." Nugai said rather frustrated. "So unless I do it myself, I don't know what they do and don't have. Of course, there could be another reason why they didn't have the game he's trapped in, in stock."

"And why's that?" Zoroark asked.

"Because it isn't out or doesn't even exist yet." Nugai replied.

Zoroark looked rather shocked. "What?!"

"Well, there are a few other possibilities as well." Nugai said. "It could easily be super rare, to the point that none of the stores I visited had it. Or even an online game, something like a flash game that has never had a physical copy. Sorry, I don't quite fully know. All I can really do is speculate on why the Smash Pendant isn't reacting. All we know is that he is alive, someway and some how. And that's the best case scenario."

"It is?"

"Yes, he's out there somewhere and right now that is good enough for me. I believe that one day, we will meet up once again." Nugai replied. "Now, we need to go to the Smash Mansion."

"What, why?"

"Something has come up that you need to know about it." Nugai replied. "And it looks like a new adventure is about to begin."

Nugai just created a portal, and the two walked through it.

They were soon in Master Hand's office. The giant hand just floated behind his desk. "And you're back."

"Yes." Nugai replied. "I've brought Zoroark because something happened with him too. It seems that Zenith is getting rather aggressive."

"Wait 'too'?" Zoroark questioned. "Something has happened to the other chosen champions?"

"You catch on quick." Nugai laughed. "Yes. Noah ran into trouble as well, and I had to rescue him. It has been decided that he is staying here permanently."

"I will also be staying here permanently." Zoroark said. "With Master gone, there's no reason for me to stay there in school, or at the house..."

Nugai just closed his eyes and nodded. He knew that this was coming. "Zoroark, can I at least ask that you attend the rest of the week?" Nugai asked.

"Why?" Zoroark growled. "I was attacked by a Zenith Agent today. I'd rather not see what the remaining two days have in store for me."

"I'm sorry, but, just please wait until the end of the week." Nugai said. "I'll be constantly watching and making sure nothing else happens."

"Fine." Zoroark muttered. "But when I'm not at school, I want to be here in this world looking for Master!"

Nugai just nodded. "All right, that's fair, I'll arrange for that then."

"I'm also skipping for the rest of the day." Zoroark said. "I just need to sleep, I haven't had a good night's sleep since Friday night."

"All right, I'll leave you to that then." Nugai said.

Zoroark just exited the office and made his way to the room that was marked for Alex. He went in and just collapsed on the bed. Almost immediately he fell asleep.

* * *

Noah was finding it rather boring at the Smash mansion. At the very least back at Alex's house he could always fall back to some other games, or watching something online. But here there was none of that.

He had been quickly welcomed and integrated into the nearby school at a terrifyingly quick pace. The end result was that he had only had missed half a day. And the half a day he did attend for the most part had been painless, besides for some mystery meat that the cafeteria seemed to call food. At the very least a bunch of the kid Smashers were there with him. And now he was just lying on his bed at his room in the mansion.

Suddenly a siren began to blare. Noah looked around confused, and a few seconds later, Lucas and Ness were at his door knocking at it. He opened it and they grabbed his wrists. "What's going on?" Noah asked.

"Another mission." Ness said. "Come on, you need to come along, okay. There's a chance that you will be the only chosen champion here."

"Okay." Noah said. He followed them and they made it to the briefing room. Master Hand was floating there in the room, along with numerous Smashers who were waiting for others to arrive. They just took their seat and sat down.

Soon all of the Smashers were there. "It seems like the only Chosen Champion here is Noah." Master Hand said.

Noah suddenly felt a little bit conscious as every head turned towards him.

"Wait, what about Lily, I thought she was staying here."

"She was." Master Hand said. "But she isn't in her room right now and we don't know where she is, and then the others can't make it back here right now."

"That's fine." Noah said. "I can do this mission myself."

Master Hand just nodded. "That's good." He said. "I'm glad you feel that way. Because we're also missing some Smashers. Mario, Luigi, Captain Falcon, Fox, and Olimar, they went out to find Rosalina, but we've lost contact with them."

"Are you sending us out to find them?" Falco asked.

"No." Master Hand replied. "They are still alive. And most likely, they are in a dangerous situation. We can't afford to send anyone else out, we might be putting ourselves and them in a more dangerous situation, all we can do is trust them. If they are fine, they will eventually contact us. Now the reason I called everyone here. I don't know if it's a chaos seed, but, I'm detecting strange energy readings. Noah, you're going to have to go investigate."

"All right." Noah said. "So where is this place?"

"The Pokemon World." Master Hand replied.

Everyone just looked up in shock. "What?!" Zoroark said.

Noah just glanced over to see Zoroark, he was rather surprised that the Pokemon was here instead of living his double life in the other world.

"Yes, the Pokemon World." Master Hand replied. "And due to the nature of this place, I think you understand that only a certain few of you can go."

Noah just nodded.

"Red!" Master Hand said.

"Yes?" Red said.

"You're going on this mission with Charizard, Ivysaur and Squirtle."

"Understood!" Red said.

Master Hand looked out at the others. "Noah, you can either have another human companion, and you will split the 6 Pokemon between yourselves, or you can have all six of the Pokemon as companions."

"Hold it!" Mewtwo suddenly shouted. "Forgive me for being selfish. But, I'm going into this world too. I'll be independent." He said as he put a cloak over himself.

"I understand." Master Hand said.

"If something is happening there, I must know." Mewtwo said.

"That's fair. Now Noah, do you wish to have another human?"

"Well, I guess another human companion would be good." Noah said. "I've all ready got Red, and he's an expert right... Lucas you're my Smasher, we could go together."

Lucas looked up, he looked a bit shaken. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Oh, I guess you haven't gotten over what happened in the last mission." Noah said.

"Don't worry, I can go!" Ness said.

"But maybe you should stay here with Lucas." Noah said.

"I'll go then." Toon Link said. "It shouldn't be a problem if I go, right?"

"I guess." Noah said.

"Good than it's decided." Toon Link replied slinging an arm over Noah's neck. "We're going together!"

"Right."

"All right, everyone you leave immediately!" Master Hand said. "Noah, go get changed into that suit."

Noah looked a bit shocked. "Right!" he eventually said. He just got up and began to go towards his room. However Ness followed.

"Noah, wait a second." Ness said.

Noah just stopped an waited for Ness to catch up.

"Listen, I just wanted to warn you. Watch your food. Whatever you do, don't let Toon Link handle it." Ness warned.

Noah nodded. "Okay."

He soon made it to his room and just went in, finding the suit laid out on his bed. He just quickly put it on and walked out. Waiting there was Zoroark.

"I thought you would be in the transportation room." Noah said.

Zoroark just nodded. "I wanted to say something."

"Is something wrong Zoroark?" Noah wondered.

"It's just, I feel conflicted. I can go to my home, but without Master to be there beside me. I don't know if I should." Zoroark replied. "It's just, I dreamed that one day both of us would be there together."

Noah just nodded. "I see. I understand where you're coming from, but, I think you still need to come. You need to go there to help defend it, so that there is still something there when we find Alex."

Zoroark nodded. "Right." He said.

They made their way to the transportation room. Toon Link, and Red were there. Mewtwo was standing there as well with a cloak around him. There was also a bunch of Pokeballs on the table

"All right, you can choose which Pokemon you want. Zoroark, you should also go into a Pokeball." Master Hand said.

Zoroark however just disguised himself as a human. "Sorry." Was all he said. He just looked at the others. Noah, and Toon Link then divided the Pokemon between themselves.

"All right, I wish you all good luck." Master Hand said.

He began to type something in, and they were all teleported away.

* * *

At the Colosseum in Skyworld, the training continued. However Magnus was now within 3 feet of Palutena. He just swung his sword, and she actually had to jump back to avoid his sword's reach.

"That's enough." Palutena said.

"Are you sure?" Magnus wondered. "I can keep going."

Palutena just smiled. "Well that's good, because that was only the first part of your training." She said. "I think we're ready to go to stage two."

Magnus just laughed. "Is that so? Well, bring it on!"

Palutena just nodded. "All right, if you insist! But you should take a break and rest up first. Especially since stage two will require a bit of preparation."

* * *

Out in space where the Bottle Ship used to occupy, the Galactic Federation ship was still there. They were getting ready to destroy the portal.

"All right, good!" The Colonel laughed. "Now, Malkovich and his crew will never be able to come back. Ready... Fire!"

A laser fired at the portal, however a giant mech flew out of the portal, blocking the attack and just immediately began to attack the ship. Within a few minutes, there was nothing left of the space ship. Everyone who was on it was dead.

"The human ship has been eliminated. You can not run, humans." The alien piloting the mech said. "Returning to base."

It just went back through the portal, that slowly began to expand.

* * *

**File 1**

**Do you want to save?**

**YES**

**Party: Noah, Lucario, Zoroark, Greninja, Red, Charizard, Ivysaur, Squirtle, Toon Link, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pichu, Mewtwo**

**7 Chosen Champions Remain**

* * *

**And that's it for this chapter. Next story arc, the Pokemon World, but what does it hold?  
**

**Looplets and Emeras are from Pokmeon Super Mystery Dungeon**

**Of course Zoroarkite doesn't yet exist... So we'll see how my envisioned mega evolution of Zoroark will pair up with an eventual mega evolution.**

**The names for the 6 soldiers, I originally wanted to use the bot names from Kid Icarus Uprising's multiplayer. Except when I looked up a list, they were mostly all joke names or references such as "bots4ever" "Captain N" or "Majora".**


	13. Shadows of Orre

**Hey, long time no see. Well I finished all 3 paths in FE: Fates, and then the majority of the downloadable stuff. Well... at least the important ones such as the 6 part "Heirs of Fate". Still need to get all the kids though...  
**

**Finished Kirby Planet Robobot. I enjoyed it a lot more than Triple Deluxe, the robobot just has way more variety than the hypernova... Currently I'm playing Tokyo Mirage Sessions Sharp FE.**

**So... How about that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wilds trailer? Can't wait.  
**

* * *

Chapter 13: Shadows of Orre

The forest was incredibly thick and dense. Dark Pit and Claus were just rushing through it as fast as their legs could carry them. "I thought you said we had time!" Claus snapped, incredibly frustrated.

"I thought we did too!" Dark Pit said. "But someone, somehow, someway, passed through the barrier!"

"Passed through, right? So they didn't break it, right?" Claus questioned.

Dark Pit just glanced at the orange haired boy. "Yeah." He replied.

"So, there is a chance that they aren't after us?" Claus wondered.

"A chance." Dark Pit replied. "But I don't want to risk it. There may be a Smasher who could easily pass through it, and Master Hand could have sent them, and just kept the barrier up as an added defense mechanism."

The two just continued rushing through the forest, but a thought did cross Claus' mind. How were the going to get to their destination? They didn't exactly have access to any portals, or other ways to travel besides foot. Claus just stopped, forcing Dark Pit to also stop.

"Why did you stop?" Dark Pit asked.

"You probably don't want to hear this right now... but, how are we getting anywhere?" Claus asked. "We can't exactly walk to an island in the middle of an ocean, not to mention that it's also on a different planet!"

Dark Pit just nodded. "That's correct, don't worry, I've got a plan. And once we get to it, it's unlikely that they will be able to catch up to us."

Claus just sighed. "All right." He said. "I just guess I'll have to trust you, in this case."

"That's what you have to do regardless now, due to our situation." Dark Pit replied.

* * *

Lily was walking through the forest with Kirby in her arms. "Are you sure we should have left without saying anything?" Kirby asked.

"I'm sure." Lily replied.

Mr. Game and Watch was right beside them. "But it looked like there was a big crisis that was happening."

Lily just nodded. "I know, but for right now, we have to trust our team mates, and hope that Noah is capable of dealing with it alone. We also need to do something. We need to find Dark Pit."

"What, why?!" Mr. Game and Watch asked.

Lily just looked at the two dimensional man. "Because we need him, and if the Smashers get to him first, we'll be in big trouble."

"They're still stuck behind the barrier he made." Kirby said. "What's the rush."

"Only because Pit isn't doing anything, and is stalling for as long as he can." Lily replied. "We need to go and find him before he gets himself into more trouble."

They just nodded and continued walking through the woods. Lily was rather nervous. "Why isn't this like the future I foresaw..."

They came to a clearing, and what looked like a park. In the middle of the park they were greeted by a strange building. There were a few banners that just seemed to have an emblem of a rabbit's head on it. But there were no signs telling what this place was.

On the top of the building there was rotating displays of giant badges. Lily just looked up at them confused.

"There's Bowser, Mario, some Pikmin and Toon LinK!" Kirby said surprised. "What is this strange place?!"

"That's what I'd like to know." Lily said surprised. She looked at the giant badges. Lining the top of the shop there was 8 badges with one in particular that seemed completely out of place. It was a squid, but couldn't place where it was from. At first she thought it was just a Blooper to go with the other giant Mario Badges, but there were way too many differences in the designs. For starters it was a purplish, pink color. And then the eyes were completely different. And while Bloopers usually had two tentacles outstretched, this badge didn't.

"Was it just to avoid the small parts to be chipped off?" She wondered. But looking at the giant badge of Toon Link with the wind waker sticking out, that wasn't the issue. Whatever that cartoon squid was, it wasn't a Blooper.

She just walked towards the doors. Both Kirby and Mr. Game and Watch looked a bit surprised and just followed.

As she walked into the building she saw crane machines lining the walls. "An arcade?" She questioned.

Suddenly, an anthropomorphic pink bunny in a suit rushed up to her. "Well, well, well, what have we here? Hello there!"

"Hello..." Lily said a bit confused and shocked at the sudden appearance of the bunny.

"Welcome to the Nintendo Badge Arcade!" The Bunny said, it just looked at her for a few seconds and then just burst out in shock. "Hang on! It's your first time here, ain't it?"

"Yes." Lily replied.

"I knew it! Thanks for coming!" The bunny said. "My name is Baito Badgegrab, although most people just call me Arcade Bunny and I work here in this arcade."

"Hey Arcade Bunny!" A voice shouted.

"Sorry about this, I'll be right back in, just a second." Baito said to Lily.

Lily just nodded, and the pink bunny rushed off to help the person who had called. A few seconds later he was back, but had a rather big smile across his face.

"It's not often you can get a job doing what you love most, am I right?" Baito wondered.

"You mean working in this arcade?" Lily asked.

"That's right! I loves me my games." Baito replied. "I love my games more than I love carrot juice... And coming from me that's saying something."

Kirby just glanced up at Lily. "This guy is really weird." He whispered. Lily couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"But I should tell you about this place, shouldn't I?" Baito asked.

"Yes, we were wondering about it." Lily replied.

"Well, this here game arcade is for playin' on badge catchers!" Baito said. "Badge catchers are really just crane games. You've played crane games before, right?"

"Yes, of course." Lily replied.

"Smashin'!" Baito replied rather happy. "We'll have you catchin' badges before you can say "badgerrific"!"

"He's making up words now..." Kirby muttered. "I don't think we should stay here much longer..."

Lily just shushed the puffball.

"First, wanna know what you can get from badge catchers?" Baito wondered, before Lily could even answer Baito continued. "Exclusive badges only available here, that's what! You can get your fave characters from the hottest games There's stacks of them for you to collect! And that's not all... You can decorate anything with them! Can you dig it?!"

Lily just stood there a bit shocked.

"And if you have a lot you can design things and make scenes. Do you want to have a go now? It costs you nothin' to try!"

"Sure..." Lily said a bit confused.

"Right on!" Baito said jumping up and down with glee. "Badge catchers normally cost $1 for 5 plays! And when I say that, I'm talking about real money! And when I say real money..." He suddenly transformed into a realistic looking pink rabbit. "I mean this kind of real!"

Lily was just rather shocked by his sudden transformation.

"This is how I look in real mode! You like?" Baito said. He suddenly transformed back. "But, you don't have to get any real money right now! That's because on this occasion. As a thank you for visiting, you get 5 plays for free! And you'll get to keep whatever badges you win! Well then! Let's jump right in, shall we?"

"Um, wait." Lily said as Baito was dragging her over to a badge catcher.

"Oh, don't worry, you don't have to stay on one machine, you can go over to any other one."

"No, it's not that..." Lily sighed. "I came in to try and figure out what the one badge outside was from."

"One badge?" Baito wondered.

"Yes, one of those giant rotating badges on the building. The purple squid."

"Oh that!" Baito laughed. "Sadly we don't have Splatoon Badges in just yet. The boss says we're getting them, but..."

"Splatoon?"

"Yep, are you a kid or a squid?" Baito asked.

Lily just blinked absolutely confused. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"What?!" Baito said. "You've never heard of Splatoon?"

Lily just shook her head. "No, I'm sorry but this is the first I've ever heard of it."

All the color just drained from Baito until he was monochrome. "I can't believe it, someone who hasn't heard of Splatoon..."

"Could you just explain what it is?" Lily wondered.

Baito however just began to walk away. "I... how could someone not know what Splatoon is? You're a kid now, you're a squid now, you're a kid now, you're a squid now..." He just walked into the back, singing incredibly off key, and just looking incredibly broken.

"I was supposed to know what Splatoon is?" Lily questioned.

"I guess so." Kirby replied. "I never heard of it."

Lily just went around to each of the badge catchers and began to investigate what was inside. She looked at the numerous set ups and different types of catchers, and then she looked at the badges inside. They appeared to be artwork. She just let off a small chuckle.

"Something funny?" Mr. Game and Watch wondered.

"I was just hoping for the Pokemon Gym Badges." Lily replied. "Well, in the meantime... Let's see..."

She walked up to a badge machine and saw some Legend of Zelda badges inside it. "Hey Baito!" She shouted. "You said I had five free plays right?!"

"That's right!" Baito said suddenly appearing right beside her. "And you're not limited to just one machine. All five plays can be on different machines!"

Lily just nodded. She looked at the various machines. After a few plays, she got a few badges and just got up. "So, now that you've tried badge catching, would you like to pay for more plays?"

"No thanks."

"That's fine, we don't want to pressure you into this, you know." Baito laughed. "Also, when I went into the back, I got this badge for you." He held out his hand, and there was the badge of the squid. Lily just looked a bit surprised. "I took it out of my personal collection." Baito replied. "Don't worry too much about it, it was a double."

"Wait, you're just giving it to me?" Lily wondered.

"Yep." Baito replied. "It's yours for the taking. Collecting badges is fun, but so is trading them, or giving your friends badges that they don't have."

Lily just nodded and took the badge. "Thank you." She said.

Baito just smiled. "Well, I hope we'll see you again. But, next time you're going to have to pay money, or try your luck with the practice catcher to get a free play in order to get more badges."

"Thank you." Lily replied.

The three left the Badge Arcade and looked at the forest. "That was a distraction I don't think we needed." Lily sighed. "And we're no closer to finding Dark Pit."

Kirby just laughed. "Well, I guess it's my turn to shine!" He said. Suddenly a warp star appeared. "I'll scour the skies looking for him!"

Kirby jumped onto the warp star and flew away, leaving Mr. Game and Watch, and Lily behind. "So, what's the next plan?"

"I don't know." Lily replied. She just looked at the badges in her hands. There was something peculiar about them. "Mr. Game and Watch, can you feel a strange power coming from these badges?" She wondered.

"No I don't." He replied.

Lily just nodded accepting that. "I see." She said. "Well, in that case, I think we should wait for Kirby to come back. And if he hasn't found anything, we'll go back to the Smash Mansion."

"Why?" Mr. Game and Watch asked puzzled.

"Just, I'm thinking about these badges." She replied. "And besides, I'm getting the feeling we should return, before anyone notices we're gone."

* * *

_A desert is hot, barren, and deadly. If you were lost in it, odds are you're going to die. And the desert of Orre was no different. Known as just a wasteland, containing nothing but death. Even those who were native to the region feared the desert for how ruthless it could be. Many didn't even travel outside of their small villages, for fear of it._

_For that reason it was a surprise when a young child had somehow, someway traversed the desert and made it up to the northern forests. _

_After how many days and nights, that young child with platinum blonde hair just weakly stumbled forwards. His clothing was tattered. His feet were covered in blisters and cuts. He was covered in burs and dirt. In front of him was a white building, with a gigantic Pokeball on top. It was surrounded by green trees. He just let out a small smile. "I've made it!" He weakly muttered before collapsing on the stone walkway, and blacking out._

_When he came to he was in a nice warm bed. The room was white and sterile. He just looked around. "Am I dead?" He muttered. His eyes focused on a woman wearing pink. To him, she looked like an angel. In her arms was a baby with short red hair._

_"You're finally up." She said._

_The young boy just nodded, unsure of what to do. Where was he? Who was this strange woman? Was he safe? Was she going to hurt him?_

_"I'm so glad you're okay." She said. "We just found you collapsed outside of the Pokemon HQ Lab."_

_The boy's thoughts were racing, from such a young age he had learned never to trust anyone. That trust would only lead to disaster. Noticing the young boy's distress she just quickly engaged in some small talk to try and calm him down._

_"My name is Lily." She said. "I live here. And what's your name?"_

_"Wes..." The boy muttered._

_She smiled. "What a nice name." She said. "This is my son, Michael."_

* * *

A man just opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. "That dream again..." He muttered. "I haven't had it in years... Why now... Crap."

At the moment he was lazily lying on a rock looking up to the sky. His platinum blond hair was messy, like always, as though he had just drove through the desert at top speed. His shades covered his eyes, that he had quickly closed. He wore a dark blue trench coat, and black pants. He didn't mind the heat that his attire seemed to bring. By now, he was used to it. At worse, if he was just a sweaty mess, he'd just jump into an oasis, to clean up a bit.

He reached into his trench coat and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lighting one and then letting it hang from his mouth. He exhaled the toxic gas.

He lived in the middle of the desert, it was literally in the middle of nowhere. But it was his sanctuary, initially it was just a place that he could feel at ease in, away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities, and away from the authorities. He would have lived alone if it wasn't for his girlfriend and his two younger siblings, a little brother and a little sister, that insisted on staying with him. Their mother died in an accident. Their father, was a public figure in Orre, however he had died a long time ago.

"Wes!" a younger voice shouted. "Where are you big bro? You promised we would have a Pokemon battle!"

Wes laughed slowly getting up. 'Ya...' He thought to himself, 'I did promise that.' From behind the rocks came a kid. He had rather untidy reddish, brownish hair held up by a red headband. He wore a dark long sleeve shirt and a yellow vest over the shirt and he wore navy blue track pants with a red stripe down the side.

His eyes just focused on the cigarette hanging in Wes' mouth. "You're smoking again!" The little kid scolded him.

"Yeah, I was." Wes replied. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and flicked it away. "What are you going to do about it squirt?"

"I'll tell Rui!" He threatened.

"Don't." Wes muttered. "She thinks I've quit."

"Nope she has got to know the truth."

Wes just sighed. "Look, what do I have to do to stop you from telling her? I can go find some Ice Cream?"

"Maybe, if you let me win a Pokemon battle against you?"

Wes gritted his teeth. He wasn't pleased by this response. "Pokemon battles are won by skill." He sternly replied. "Not by blackmail."

The kid just sulked. "Aww... I doubt I will be able to beat you in a fair fight." He muttered.

"You just got to keep trying, squirt." Wes laughed. "Are you ready?"

"I've been ready since this morning. You just ran away after breakfast to have your smokes."

Wes just let out a laugh. "Point taken."

"So where are we going to battle big bro?" His little brother asked.

"No idea, squirt." Wes said.

"Come on, I have a name bro!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know Michael." Wes teased.

Michael began to pout. He hated when people called him that, he preferred Mike. "Come on big bro, call me Mike!"

"I'll call you what ever I want, squirt." Wes replied in a joking manor. "Tell you what if you can beat me in a battle I'll call you Mike. So where do you want to battle?"

Michael just smiled and tried to pull his older brother towards his bike. Wes just let off a sigh of relief and began to walk forwards. Eventually Wes got on to his bike and Michael got on behind him. "The usual place!" Michael said excited. With that the two of them took off.

* * *

The usual place was nothing more than a part of the desert that had sand and several rocks surrounding the place creating a nice border and several obstacles. The terrain was a harsh one to battle on, and wouldn't allow for any mistakes. Depending which way the wind blew the sand could lead to a disadvantage to one of the battlers. This however was quickly remedied by the glasses that Wes had, or the goggles that Michael wore.

But right now there was no wind blowing, it was terrifyingly calm. The two of them stood on top of some rocks ready to throw out their first pokemon.

Wes grabbed a Pokeball, and was ready to throw out, however he froze. He could see something speeding towards them off in the distance. Michael noticed his brother's apprehension, and didn't throw out his pokeball either. Soon, what was speeding towards them suddenly stopped in the middle of the battlefield. It's skin was pure black. It looked feline in appearance. It's tail glowed orange. And from the left side of it's chest and shoulder looked like a giant orange crystal.

A shadowy aura burst from the mysterious Pokemon and it changed. Now having another crystal beginning to protrude from his right shoulder. It's ears now looked like orange horns.

"A shadow pokemon!?" Michael said shocked.

Wes just was a bit shocked. Previously, only his girlfriend Rui could see a shadow pokemon's aura with the naked eye. However now he could see it as clear as day.

"Well, if it wants a battle, it's a battle its going to get!" Wes said. "Michael, get over here when I have it occupied!"

Michael just nodded, not even trying to give his brother any sass that he called him that. He could tell that Wes was serious, and surprisingly afraid. Twice now they had fought against Cipher, the group responsible for the Shadow Pokemon, and shut them down. They thought they had destroyed the remnants of the Shadow Pokemon project, but now... A new pure Shadow Pokemon stood before them. Beyond that, it was a Pokemon he had never seen before.

As soon as the mysterious Pokemon had touched the ground, the desert sand and rocks had turned into crystal.

Wes just looked rather surprised. He suddenly felt afraid. As though this was not just a pokemon that had appeared. He could tell that he was outclassed against this strange Pokemon.

"Espeon, Umbreon!" He shouted, throwing the pokeballs containing his two most faithful pokemon. "Come, let's battle!"

The two pokemon were released, and just faced the shadow pokemon. "Umbreon Bite, Espeon psybeam!"

The two pokemon rushed forwards. From Espeon's forehead came a beam of light that just rushed towards the Shadow Pokemon. It just raised it's hand and blocked the attack. Umbreon had made it close to the strange Pokemon. It jumped into the air and bit down on the Pokemon's arm, but was just quickly tossed off.

The dark shadow on this strange pokemon just went to the wound and quickly began to heal it. Wes just looked rather frustrated.

Michael just quickly activated his aura reader, hoping that it would give him more information regarding this strange pokemon. However every time it tried to scan it and get information, nothing was consistent. It seemed to be going absolutely wild as random numbers were just flashing on the lens.

"What the?" Michael said rather confused. If he was capable or making out any information it was just this; whatever this pokemon was, it was was dangerous.

Wes had also come to this conclusion and had let out his other 4 pokemon. Tyranitar, Typhlosion, Ampharos, and Metagross. With the constant assault from six different Pokemon, Michael figured now would probably be the best time to rush over to Wes' side.

"Wes!" Michael shouted running towards his brother. However, the Shadow Pokemon's noticed, and its aura left its body and rushed towards Michael ripping his clothing. This was shocking for both Wes and Michael as never before had an aura been able to inflict physical damage.

The next moment the shadow pokemon just teleported towards Michael, who found himself paralyzed in fear.

"Stay away from him!" Wes shouted. "Tyranitar Crunch!" The giant green Pokemon rushed forwards and brought it's teeth down upon the shadow pokemon. It seemed to inflict a decent amount of damage causing it to stagger backwards. Wes just ran towards his brother and pulled him away from the battlefield.

The shadow pokemon however was enraged. He just flew directly towards Tyranitar, and began to rapidly punch it in the stomach. Metagross flew right into the Shadow Pokemon, knocking it back. Ampharos, Typhlosion and Espeon began to use thunder, psybeam, and flamethrower respectfully. Strangely this seemed to work and locked the pokemon into position where it couldn't move.

Instead it just began to gather all of the sand to act as a barrier. "Typhlosion, flamethrower!" Wes ordered. The sandstorm around the strange pokemon began to heat up, and turn into a glass barrier trapping it inside. The pokemon quickly realized what was happening, and sent out a pulse of energy shattering the glass.

Michael just looked at all of his brother's Pokemon, they were clearly exhausted and weren't going to last much longer. Fighting this pokemon was taking its toll. Not to mention all of the pokemon being constantly buffeted by the sandstorm created by Tyranitar's sand stream.

"Lugia go!" Michael shouted. The giant bird Pokemon appeared. "Areo blast!" He ordered.

Lugia just send a pressured blast of air towards the mysterious Shadow Pokemon. However it just blocked the attack. "I've had enough of this fooling around." A voice said. Wes and Michael just looked up at the shadow pokemon in shock.

"It can talk!?" Michael said.

It just raised up it's arm. Darkness seemed to concentrate on a single spot becoming a giant ball of energy. It just threw it down, creating a giant explosion that engulfed them all, and knocking them all unconscious.

The Shadow Pokemon just touched the ground and looked at the two unconscious humans and the 7 unconscious pokemon. It just began to gasp for air. From Michael's Pokeballs, five more pokemon just emerged. A Jolteon, Walrein, Shiftry, Dusknoir, and Gardevoir. They just looked over at the strange shadow pokemon, rather angry about their trainer's current condition.

* * *

When Wes came too, they were all lying in the desert, the crystal that had formed had disappeared, and whatever that shadow pokemon was, it was nowhere to be seen.

Wes just gasped for air. "Again..." He muttered. He just stood up and quickly rushed over to his little brother.

Michael was still unconscious, by his side were his pokemon nudging him to try and wake him up. They had most likely forced their way out of the pokeballs to protect them after they were knocked unconscious. Judging by a few scratch marks on them they did put up a bit of a fight. Wes just lightly shook his brother. "Hey, sleepyhead, get up."

"Wes..." Michael muttered. He opened his eyes and looked at his brother. "Sorry... I held you back..."

"Don't say that." Wes replied. "Going by it's final attack, something tells me we didn't stand a chance from the beginning. Now come on, we both stink, we need to find an oasis and clean off."

Michael just weakly nodded. They recalled all of their pokemon, and made their way to Wes' bike. They just got in and Wes drove off, eventually stopping in front of an oasis.

The two brothers stripped into their boxers and just got in to the water, and just dunked themselves wetting their hair. When they got up, they did nothing to correct their hair, they just left it dropped down covering the vast majority of their faces. The two silently decided to just relax. Normally they would be splashing each other as though the oasis was a pool, however they were oddly quiet today. The odd appearance of both a wild pokemon, let alone a Shadow Pokemon in one really did have the power to silence even the strongest of warriors.

"Bro," Michael said breaking the silence. "Just what was that? Another XD001?"

The words shocked Wes. "I hope not." Wes replied. He really, really didn't. If another fragment of Cipher survived... He just plunged himself underwater to perish the thought. "_No, of course it isn't. It's that thing from the lab... That thing that escaped..._"

An image flashed into his mind, the image of a scientist being impaled by the orange crystal. Yet, despite the pain that the scientist was in, he had a twisted smile across his face.

Wes just surfaced and began to gasp for air.

"You okay, bro?" Michael asked.

"Yeah." Wes lied, just lying back and floating across the oasis, wishing that his troubles would just drift away. After several minutes he got up, and out of the oasis. Michael followed and they just got two towels from Wes' bike.

"Rui and Jovi might be getting worried about us." Michael said.

Wes just nodded in agreement. "All the more reason to get home then."

"What should we tell them happened?" Michael wondered.

"We tell them the truth, we had a Pokemon battle." Wes replied. "That's all they need to know. Rui will worry herself sick if she knew there was another shadow pokemon. And Jovi, well... She's Jovi."

Wes put on his black pants and shirt, and covered his little brother with his trench coat. "Rui will be wondering what happened to your clothing. If we're lucky, we should be able to quickly dispose of them." Wes sighed looking at the ripped clothes on the back of his bike. He got on and his little brother followed, putting his glasses down, he revved up the bike and drove off.

During the ride home he thought to himself about various things, none of them very important. But despite his thoughts, his eyes stayed focused on the road ahead.

Michael however was looking up at his older brother. He always looked fearless, calm, but most of all cool, and he idolized him for that. If only he knew Wes was a good faker.

It was beginning to get much darker. Wes just cursed under his breath, they must have been unconscious for quite a few hours after they were beaten. Rui was going to be wondering where they were. He knew that they weren't going to hear the end of this any time soon.

They soon stopped in front of the house. All the lights were out, Rui had probably gone to bed. Michael went to grab his key and opened the door. Quietly they entered the house trying there best not to make any noise. Michael immediately went up to his room, Wes however slipped into the TV room and turned on the TV. Trying to catch a cartoon, or something to take his mind off of the events of today. However it didn't work and Wes pounded his fist in anger against the sofa's arm.

"Damn it!" He said frustrated. "That Shadow Pokemon made a fool of us!"

Michael on the other hand had put on PJs, which consisted of plain black pants and a bright blue shirt with a Pokeball logo on it. At the foot of his bed there was a Pokemon rejuvenation center, he had placed his 6 pokeballs there, and it slowly began to heal his Pokemon. He was curled up, his head leaning against his knees a few tears had seeped from his eyes. "Wes could have taken care of the Shadow Pokemon," he cried to himself. "But I just had to interfere and cut across the battlefield, and then Wes had to save me, and his Pokemon got hurt because of me." Michael just felt a great amount of regret. He looked into the mirror seeing his brothers trench coat that he had just tossed onto the floor. He just hung it up on his door.

Wes would come later to tuck him in at night, and reclaim the jacket.

Later there was a light knock at the door and it slowly opened. Wes just walked in, and saw Michael underneath the blankets. He just walked in and sat at the edge of the bed.

"You okay big bro?" Michael asked.

Wes just nodded. "Somewhat." He sighed. "I was just checking to make sure you were fine."

"I am."

"You didn't come back down to get dinner." Wes said.

"I'm not that hungry." Michael replied.

"That's not good for you." Wes replied. "You have to eat, even if you don't want to." He just placed a few granola bars on the beside table. "Eat those if you need a midnight snack."

Michael just nodded.

"Tomorrow, I'm planning on going out to the library." Wes said.

Michael just looked up at him rather shocked. "Can I come with you?"

"No." Wes replied. "Sorry, it's too dangerous. Stay here Mike."

Michael just nodded, froze, and then glanced up at his brother in shock and realization that he had called him Mike. "Did you just say that to butter me up?" Michael grinned.

"Yes." Wes replied rather bluntly. "Listen, stay here. I need to retrieve something, and it would be a lot easier without you or anyone else distracting me, and having to worry about protecting someone."

Michael just flinched. He felt like those words were chosen specifically because of today. "What do you have to retrieve at the library?" Michael asked. "That place has been in ruins for a long time..."

Wes just sighed. "Apparently two children's books." He replied glancing at his cell phone.

"Why?" Michael questioned.

"The person wants them, and if they're there they're willing to pay good money." Wes replied. "That's all the reason I need. Now sleep tight."

"Okay, big bro." Michael replied.

"And Mike?"

"Yeah?"

"Guess we'll have to reschedule that battle." Wes said.

Michael's eyes opened up. He just sat up and hugged his brother. "Let's wait until next week." Michael said.

Wes just nodded. "Okay."

* * *

It was morning. Much to Michael's dismay, Wes had told Rui and Jovi to look after him and make sure he didn't sneak out as Wes went out to the library. Rui was bad enough, but Jovi would make sure that he wouldn't even leave the house.

"Can you bring home some new books?" Jovi wondered. "Jovi has read all the books here, and would like some new ones."

"I'll see what I can do." Wes replied. He just got onto his bike and began to drive off.

Michael just began to step forwards as if to follow his brother. However Rui just had put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. "You know it's dangerous out there." Rui said.

Michael just nodded. "I know, but I'm a good Pokemon battler too! I took on Cipher too! I can handle whatever is thrown my way."

Rui just nodded. "I know you can." She replied. "And so does Wes, but he doesn't want to lose you too. Things are different now!"

Jovi just hugged her brother. "Come on, you can play we Jovi today!"

Michael could only let out a small painful sigh. "Alright."

* * *

The Smashers had been teleported to their destination. They just looked around in shock. This wasn't what they were expecting.

"What's going on!?" Red said surprised. It was terrifyingly quiet.

Everything was gray. There were statues of people just frozen in place. It looked like they were running from something. Everything was just silent and frozen in time.

"This is just like..." Toon Link began. "No way..."

They let all of the Pokemon out of the Pokeballs and they were all shocked into silence.

"What's going on?!" Jigglypuff muttered.

"Lucario, can you use aura to see if there's any life nearby?" Mewtwo asked.

Lucario just nodded, he closed his eyes and put his paw down on the ground. And then he began to read the aura. "There's next to nothing." Lucario replied. "Just some small residual aura coming from the statues."

Mewtwo just approached one. "I'm afraid I have some bad news." Mewtwo replied.

They all just looked at the psychic pokemon. "And that is?"

"These statues were formally people and Pokemon. They were petrified by something."

"No way, it really is just like that." Toon Link said shocked. "But that's good then, since that means..."

"Toon Link!" Mewtwo quickly snapped. "What was this just like?"

"Hyrule, underneath the ocean." Toon Link replied. "Everyone was frozen in time. They had turned to stone until I had removed the Master Sword from it's spot. And then time resumed."

"Do you think something like that could have happened here?" Red wondered.

"I'm hoping..." Mewtwo replied. "Because at least then it can be reversed."

"Yeah." Toon Link said. "Okay, so what should our first actions be?"

Mewtwo just glanced up at Noah. "I think our first action is getting an explanation for Noah's new attire."

Everyone just glanced at Noah, having forgotten that he was even there due to how quiet he had been. They just looked at him confused.

Noah himself was confused. His clothing had changed. He was now wearing a blue camo beanie with a button on it, followed by a black t-shirt that looked like it had a white paint splatter patern on it. His pants were damaged looking jeans. And then he was wearing boots. At his side was a bag. Everyone just looked at him rather shocked.

"What happened?" Mewtwo asked. "Why, or how did you change clothes?"

"It wasn't like this for the previous world..." Noah said.

Noah felt something vibrate in his pocket. He reached in, and suddenly a hologram appeared. In it was Master Hand.

"Ah good, just the person we wanted to talk to." Pikachu said. "Mind explaining what happened with Noah?"

"Well, that wasn't what I wanted to talk about, but... how do I explain it... Hmm..." Master Hand just floated there. He changed his position, and it looked like he was scratching an imaginary chin. "To be honest, I don't know."

"But, I do." A voice said. The Smashers all suddenly froze, and just turned to face the newcomer. He was a strange youthful looking person, dressed in a checkerboard pattern suit. He had messy white hair. "I am an Observer, and I guess in this case a messenger from Nugai. He's currently busy and occupied in the other world, so I'm here to explain some things."

"I guess you would know." Master Hand said.

"Is this person trustworthy?" Mewtwo asked. "I can't read his mind."

"Yes." Master Hand said. "Nugai has talked of this person. So, I'm guessing this is something in Nugai's program?"

"Yes." The Observer said. "He called it, an Augment. Each Chosen Champion would have their own power, gifted, and based upon a capability of the 3DS. But there were those abilities that he decided to give to all of the chosen champions, just they had to discover and learn to use it on their own."

"And this is one of those abilities?" Zoroark wondered.

"Yes." The Observer replied. "He knew you would eventually be going into other worlds. And at times, the other worlds are hostile, as you no doubt saw on Bionis."

"Yes." Noah replied.

"These Augments were meant to draw from the games, and strengthen you." The Observer replied. "This is an effect of the Augments."

"And that is?" Noah asked.

"You have been transformed into an actual Pokemon trainer." The Observer replied. "You have access to a team from your game."

Noah looked rather shocked. "I what?!" He just looked up at the strange person. Quickly Noah began to frisk at his belt, there were six pokeballs there. "No way!" He suddenly said rather excited. He just looked at the Observer. "Thank you."

"It's not me you should be thanking, it's Nugai." The Observer replied. "Anyways, it seems my job as NPC is over. I shall return to my other job. Farewell, until we meet again."

He just bowed and teleported away.

"So, I take this to mean that we have more Pokemon." Red laughed. "That's great!"

"I agree!" Pikachu said. "We need all the strength we can get."

Noah just weakly nodded.

"So we have 12 more Pokemon." Zoroark said.

"12?" Noah said confused.

Zoroark just pulled out Alex's 3DS, and pointed at a belt with 6 Pokeballs on it. "It looks like I have Master's Pokemon."

"So, we should probably see what Pokemon you guys have, right?" Pikachu wondered.

"Agreed." Lucario added on.

Noah however just looked down at the ground. He was rather nervous. "Do we have to?" He said.

"We should know what we have as allies." Mewtwo said. "It only makes sense."

Reluctantly Noah agreed. "Fine, please don't laugh." He said.

"Why would we laugh at our potential allies?" Toon Link wondered.

"Go Chespin." Noah meekly said, throwing the Pokeball. It was in that instant Zoroark understood why he was suddenly afraid and reluctant. Noah had only just started his game.

A little Brown and green Pokemon had appeared, it looked confused and afraid at all of the other Pokemon. "Chespin." Noah said. Chespin turned around and immediately just rushed towards Noah and began to hug it's trainer. Noah just looked up at all of the Smashers. "This is my Pokemon Chespin..."

"That's it?" Pikachu wondered.

"Yep. That's the only Pokemon I have..." Noah admitted. He just lifted up the small spiny nut Pokemon.

"It's fine." Zoroark laughed. "Don't worry about it! Master's file will have enough to strengthen us tenfold!"

"Right! If you have Alex's file, I'm sure he's got to have some super awesome Pokemon!" Pikachu said. "Like, imagine we have an Arceus on our side!"

Zoroark just laughed. "Well, don't worry, and be amazed at Master's first Pokemon! Go Delphox!"

An orange, red and yellow fox pokemon appeared. It was holding a stick. Zoroark just smiled. "Well, this is Master's Delphox." Zoroark said. "And there's 5 other pokemon where that came from!"

Delphox however just waved it's stick and fire rushed for Zoroark. Zoroark just quickly jumped out of the way, and his claws began to glow. "What was that for?"

Delphox just growled.

"It said you're not Alex, it's not going to listen to you." Pikachu replied.

"I know what it said!" Zoroark snapped. "I'm a Pokemon too, I understand it!"

"Sorry, it's just you disguise yourself as a human..." Pikachu replied. "I kind of forgot... That and you grew up in the other world away from Pokemon."

Another plume of fire rushed towards Zoroark who dodged the attack. He just began to growl, ignoring Pikachu.

"Enough." Mewtwo replied. "Just recall it."

Zoroark obeyed, calling it back into the Pokeball, and just putting it on his belt. He looked rather defeated.

Red just let off a heavy sigh. "It's common knowledge that you need to have the proper badges to control Pokemon that aren't yours. I don't know what you were expecting."

"So if I had my own Pokemon team, this wouldn't be happening?"

"So why don't you?" Lucario wondered.

Zoroark just pointed right at Noah. "He wanted to play Pokemon." Zoroark replied. "I moved my Pokemon to Alex's cart via Pokemon Bank, and then deleted my save."

"So we really don't have an increase in firepower." Toon Link sighed. "That would have been awesome if we did though."

"Looks like it's just what we set out with." Red laughed.

Toon Link just looked at Red. Everyone else just followed. "With what we set out with?" Toon Link said.

Red just looked at everyone confused. "Wait, why are you all looking at me?"

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" Toon Link wondered. "After all, you are Fire Red, The Crimson Flame."

"Fire Red The Crimson Flame?" Noah questioned.

"Oh, I see." Pikachu laughed.

"That's why..." Jigglypuff said.

"It's been quite a while..." Mewtwo chuckled.

Red just sighed. "Oh, I see, that's what this is about. Well, I've only got Charizard, Ivysaur, and Squirtle with me. If we find a Pokemon center, I can withdraw my other Pokemon then."

"Good!" Pikachu laughed. "At least something is beginning to look up. Having Fire Red's original team backing us up!"

"It's been so long since we've seen them." Pichu cheerfully replied.

Noah just looked at Red a bit confused. "Original team?" He questioned.

"Yeah, I just use Charizard, Ivysaur, and Squirtle during smashes." Red explained. "I've got other Pokemon, but Master Hand just wanted these 3 for whatever reason."

"Of course if we can find a Pokemon center and they are still safe..." Mewtwo pointed out. "Who's to say that they are also not petrified like everything else."

Red just nodded. "Hopefully not, but for right now, let's determine what we need to do."

"I think we should establish some ground rules." Pikachu quickly said. "Listen, in the event that we meet someone, I think we should remain silent. It would be too much trouble to explain why we can talk."

"Agreed." The other Pokemon said.

"Other than that, I think we should look for survivors." Lucario said. "They might be able to explain what happened. Unless someone else has any ideas as to what caused it."

"I've never heard of anything like this." Mewtwo replied.

"Same." Red added on. "I mean, a magic spell or something that froze everything in time, is next to completely unheard of, the only place that would be is..." Red suddenly froze and went white with realization. "It can't be."

"Except what?" Mewtwo asked.

"It was just a children's story." Red replied. "I doubt it has anything to do with our current situation, I mean, it's just a fictional story, right?"

"Not necessarily." Toon Link replied. "Stories can be based off of something. In my world, the legends were true of the hero who vanquished evil."

"But that's your world." Red replied.

"We'll have to see. Recount what you do remember." Mewtwo ordered.

"There were five objects called Time Gears." Red began. "They were stolen from their resting place, and without them Time Froze."

"So, is something like that happening here?" Toon Link wondered.

"I don't know." Red replied. "But I guess there is only one way to find out."

Noah felt a bit overwhelmed. It was like the Smashers had even forgotten he was there. He just looked over to see Greninja standing beside him, who hadn't said a single word.

"Nin." Greninja said.

They all just looked at him, and Greninja just pointed at Noah. Toon Link just walked over and slapped his hand on Noah's back. "You've got something to say?"

"Yeah..." Noah said. "Sorry, I just didn't know when to speak up..."

"Just say what's on your mind." Toon Link smiled. "Don't hold back, don't think it through, okay?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Noah responded. "Lucario, can you survey the area again?"

Lucario just closed his eyes and began to look around with aura. "Sorry, there's nothing here. It's all just empty space."

"Just empty space?" Toon Link said.

"Yes." Lucario replied.

"So now what?" Pikachu asked.

"I don't know. We should just be on the lookout for any survivors." Noah said.

Lucario just nodded. "Very well then."

Mewtwo just looked around "Well, I'm going to go look around." He said draping his cloak around himself. He just walked away as the others watched. A few moments later he flew up into the sky, and flew away.

"Well, I guess we've got to figure this out." Toon Link sighed.

"And our only lead is a children's story." Zoroark sighed rather annoyed.

"I wouldn't doubt the power of stories." Toon Link said. "It's how things can be passed down."

"So, should we start looking in the library?" Zoroark said rather sarcastically.

"Actually, I think that's a good idea." Red said.

Everyone just stared at him. "What?" Noah said a bit confused.

"Well, perhaps we can get the full story at the library, and we can figure everything out from there." Red replied. "I mean, right now we don't have any other clues to go by, so I say we start there. And with everyone being stone, there is another story it reminds me of too..."

"Another story?"

Red just nodded. "To be honest, they are a bit similar, so it's a bit hard to tell without further information. From what I remember, despite time being frozen, pokemon could still move. This story though, everything was petrified, so it might be closer to that..."

"Well, I think we're getting nowhere." Zoroark growled. "We should at least start moving. Lucario, can you go up to the high ground and keep a lookout?"

Lucario just glared at Zoroark. "Fine" Lucario growled in response and just jumped up onto some buildings.

Noah just looked a bit confused at Zoroark and then at Lucario. "I'm getting the feeling he really doesn't like you..." Noah whispered.

"That's fine." Zoroark replied. "I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to find Master, and protect him from the Smashers if they continue to decide to attack him."

"We won't." Pikachu said. "But listen, maybe for efficiency you should also go up there and scout it out."

"You too Charizard." Red said.

Zoroark just nodded, and he quickly began to climb the ruined buildings. Charizard just flew up into the sky. Now they could observe three directions, and improve their search.

They walked for a while, making no progress, until eventually Lucario suddenly said. "I can sense someone!" Lucario just jumped down to the ground, Zoroark and Charizard followed.

Everyone just turned to face the aura pokemon. "Where are they?" Red asked.

Lucario just pointed off into the distance. "He's riding a motorcycle." Lucario explained.

"That's good!" Red suddenly exclaimed.

"It is?" Toon Link questioned.

"Yeah, think about it. If he's riding a motorcycle, he has to have fuel" Red explained. "Maybe this place of everyone being turned to stone is only here. There's still a functioning civilization out there somewhere if he still has fuel!"

"In that case, I think we should follow him and get answers." Zoroark said.

Lucario just nodded. "However he will be out of my range soon."

"Then in that case... How about Greninja follows him?" Noah suggested.

"Nin!" Greninja said, immediately disappearing and not waiting for any other responses.

Noah was perhaps the most shocked about this.

"Don't be surprised." Red laughed. "He is Master Hand's personal pokemon ninja body guard for a reason."

Noah just nodded. "Right." he said.

"In the mean time, I think we can make a head start." Lucario replied. "Greninja will easily be able to find us."

Lucario began to lead the way and they went through the city. Everywhere they turned, it was the same. People and pokemon were petrified. Many just looked like they were going about their daily tasks. It was outright terrifying.

"Just what's going on..." Pikachu muttered.

"Part of me is really afraid to find out." Red muttered. "But it's our duty as Smashers to protect people, and end this."

"If there's anyone left to protect..." Pikachu said rather grimly.

Everyone else couldn't help but nod in agreement. Even knowing that there was at least one person gave them a bit of hope, but, that one person felt lost in the giant wasteland.

They continued walking until Pikachu suddenly stopped. He motioned for everyone to be quiet. Zoroark and Lucario just jumped down.

"I hear some people." Pikachu muttered.

"There's a group up ahead." Lucario whispered.

They slowly made their way towards the voices. Being sure to remain in the shadows. They soon saw a gang of eight people, surrounding a young girl in a tattered cloak.

"Well, you were trespassing on our turf!" One said.

"They're annoying, aren't they Aster?" The girl wondered. She seemed to be talking to a Whismur, and mostly ignoring the group, which was quickly irritating them.

"Hey, we're talking here! Why don't you listen to us!"

"Aster, are we going to be late for our job?" She wondered.

"We have to rescue her." Noah said.

Zoroark and Lucario nodded and were the first to react. They just rushed out of hiding, and proceeded to knock the first two in the gang unconscious by quick attacks from behind. Caught of guard the remaining six were quickly dispatched.

"You didn't have to do that." the girl replied, glancing at the shadows where everyone was hidden. "I was going to take care of them myself."

"Sorry, I just thought you needed the help." Noah said. "I'm Noah, and who are you?"

She just looked over Noah and sized him up. "I'm Zinnia." She said. "I didn't think kids like you would be able to survive like this."

"Um well..." Noah began.

"It's been hard, but we've managed." Red replied. "I'm Red."

"And I'm Link." Toon Link said. "All though you can call me Toon."

Zinnia just looked them over, and then began to bend down to all of the unconscious people and began to search them, taking stuff from their pockets and putting them into a bag. "Well then, sorry but I don't like people slowing me down, and I've got an appointment to be at in about half an hour. So I'm going to be on my way." She said. She threw out a Pokeball and suddenly a Salamance emerged. She just got on top of it and the dragon took off to the skies.

Greninja came back, and just bowed in front of Noah. Noah just looked a bit confused. "Um..."

"I think Greninja has found where that person was going." Pikachu said.

"Nin." Greninja replied.

They just began to follow Greninja, making their way through the streets until they eventually came across a giant building. "Nin." Greninja said.

"I'm guessing that who ever it was, went into there." Jigglypuff said.

Red just looked up at a falling apart sign. "Well, what are the odds." He laughed.

Noah and Toon Link looked up at the sign, but both of them were unable to read the foreign language. "What does it say?" Toon Link wondered.

"We're at the library." Red replied.

They entered into what remained of the library. It looked like the place had been ransacked. Windows had been shattered, books were torn and across the gound, if they were even there. Many of the shelves were barren.

"What the?" Noah said shocked.

"I guess this is a good thing." Toon Link said.

"How?!" Red asked shocked. "This place has been ransacked!"

"Toon Link is right." Pikachu said. "If this place wasn't ransacked, that would mean everyone was either turned to stone, or dead. But with this place destroyed, it's likely that people were here looking for supplies."

Red just looked around. "I see your point." He said.

Lucario just tensed up, and began to growl. Everyone just looked at him. "I found him." He said.

They just made their way through the library, staying behind Lucario who took took the lead. They made their way into a section that was marked "Employees Only" and went down some halls. Doors had been busted off their hinges and broken down. All except for one. A steel door that had several dents on it. It looked more like a door to a safe than anything else. Lucario just motioned for everyone to be quiet and follow him. They slowly approached a room.

Everyone was silent. They peered into the room, it was just covered with darkness. They felt that there was something waiting in the darkness, waiting for them to enter and strike. "Rrrr." Lucario growled.

"Someone's in there Lucario?"

Lucario just nodded.

Almost instantly, an Umbreon and Espeon rushed out of the room. They were followed by a person who was wearing a dark blue trench coat. He quickly ran past them in confusion, or at least would have, had Red not sent out Ivysaur. Ivysaur quickly used it's vine whip to ensnare the person.

"Espeon!" He said.

The pink Pokemon used a blast of psychic that hit Ivysaur, knocking her out cold. He quickly broke free of the vines, recalled the two Pokemon, and began to run away. Toon Link quickly gave chase.

Toon Link just threw his boomerang at the person's legs. He was tripped, and fell to the ground. Toon Link then quickly followed through with quickly trying to restrain him. The person on the floor however was prepared, and quickly was able to knock Toon Link to the ground. He pulled out a concealed knife and just quickly pressed it against Toon Link's throat. Toon Link looked horrified, he could see his reflection in the person's glasses.

"Look, you're just a kid, I don't want to hurt you." The person said, removing the knife. "Beat it." The person just got up once again and began to run, however Toon Link quickly got back up, fired his hookshot past the person and just tackled him to the ground as he was passing. This time he made sure that the knife was discarded.

This time the person had the wind knocked out of him, and he was caught by surprise. He was unable to get Toon Link off of him this time. "I said I didn't want to hurt you!" He gasped.

"Neither do I." Toon Link replied, as he got off of him and sat in front of the man. "Look, we just want answers."

"Heh, you've come to the wrong place." He said.

"Look, you're probably not going to believe me when I say this, but, we're not from this world." Toon Link replied. "We came here because of a crisis, and we want to find out what's going on, and correct it."

"You're as crazy as they come." The person replied. "Then again, you've got to be crazy to survive out here these days."

"I'm not crazy!" Toon Link replied. "I'm telling the truth! And I'd like to know what's happening here."

"Have you and your friends have been traumatized so badly you've gotten amnesia?" the man laughed.

"No, as hard as it may be to believe, he's telling the truth." Red said. Noah and the Pokemon were right behind him. "We were sent here by Master Hand to figure everything out, and try to set it right."

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" he sneered.

"No, you're not." Red sighed. "But why has everyone turned to stone?"

"You really aren't from around here?" he said. "Well then, follow me."

They just followed behind him, each of them were ready just in case he tried to bolt again. They made their way back to the safe. "If you want me to believe you, break open this safe."

"What?!" Noah said shocked.

"I'll believe you and listen to your story, and tell you everything I know, if you break open this safe." He said. "Knowledge is power after all... You, Lucario, you can use aura to see the mechanisms inside, right?"

Lucario just growled.

"Then do it. Open the safe."

"I think we should." Noah said.

Everyone just glanced at Noah. "Are you sure about this?" Toon Link asked.

Noah just nodded. "I am."

"And what if something's inside and he steals it?"

"Well, that's what I planned to do in the first place." The person said. "I'm a thief."

"What?! Then why should we open the safe?!" Toon Link asked.

"Because, it's the only way you're getting any information." The person replied. "Now, are you going to do it, or am I going to have to fight you all off."

Noah just looked right at him. "That won't be necessary. We'll do it." He said.

Everyone was just looking at him like he was crazy. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"He must have some reason for wanting the safe open." Noah said. "Besides, I know we can trust him."

"You know we can trust him!?" Red said a bit shocked. "He could easily blindside us!"

"He won't." Noah replied. "I'm positive."

"You're positive?" Red replied. "This is a post apocalyptic world! Morals mean very little in the face of survival!"

Toon Link just placed his hand on Red's shoulder. "It's fine. We can trust him."

Red just let off a heavy sigh. "Fine, if this is the way you guys want it..."

"Lucario, open the vault."

Lucario just stepped forwards to the vault and began to open it. After several minutes of fiddling with the mechanism he managed to open it.

Noah just walked forwards to the safe and looked inside. Much to his shock, there were only two books in it. He just reached in and grabbed them. Everyone just crowded around him.

"It's just as she said." the person said. "That's where they were." They just looked up at him. "Follow me if you want your answers. However don't damage those books. By the way, the name is Wes."

They just made their way out of the ruins of the library. Wes however just stopped them, and slowly made his way out. He signaled for everyone to be quiet, they slowly exited and made their way behind some rubble.

"You sure you saw some people enter here?!" They suddenly heard a voice said.

"Yeah, a large group of them." Another laughed. "They seemed a bit lost. Not to mention they had some premium looking Pokemon."

They all just froze, realizing that they had been followed. "How many of them are there?" Noah asked.

"Five." Lucario whispered so that Wes wouldn't hear. "They each have 2 or 3 Pokemon."

"We can probably take them." Toon Link whispered.

Red just nodded and got his Pokeballs ready. However they all froze, as they saw Wes standing up and walking forwards.

"So, what are a bunch of small time thieves doing here." Wes suddenly said.

There was an audible gasp and surprise from the thieves. The Smashers just grunted in frustration. "The idiot..." Pikachu muttered.

"Snagger Wes!"

"I see my reputation proceeds me." Wes said.

"Don't be intimidated by him!" One said. "We've all ready lost one thing today, we're going to need something big so we don't upset the boss!"

Wes just sighed. "Look, I'm not in the mood for this raiders. Now leave, before I get angry."

"No!" One said sending out a Pokemon. It was just a Muk.

Wes let out a small chuckle, his Espeon could make swift work of it. "Look, I'm assuming the group you were following is now the same group I'm now protecting. Now leave, or I will make you, this is your last warning!"

"Muk attack!"

Wes didn't even need to say anything. A psybeam shot out from behind him and hit Muk, immediately knocking it out. As he was walking forwards he had stealthily dropped Espeon's pokeball so that it would hit some rubble and open, and then attack to defend him at a moment's notice. "Fine I guess we're doing this the hard way." Wes sighed.

Red jumped out from behind the desk he was hiding and threw his Pokeball containing Charizard. Charizard just let out a loud roar. Zoroark, Lucario and Greninja also all emerged from what they were hiding behind and just got themselves ready to fight.

"Oh, looks like they're more than willing to fight too." Wes laughed. "Let me tell you, you're way out of your league. Now scram!"

The gang members just all ran away. Wes just laughed, a bit surprised that even worked.

"Stubborn idiots." Wes sighed.

"What even happened here?" Noah asked.

"What even happened?" Wes laughed. "What hasn't happened. The short version is, well, disaster struck, and society collapsed. It became a harsh world. You have to lie, steal and cheat to survive. Welcome to Orre, or as I like to call it, hell. Anyways, we've got other places to be, come on."

They just nodded and followed closely behind. They soon got to Wes' bike, that was hidden behind some wreckage. He just took it out from where he hid it, and got on. "Recall your Pokemon, and get on. Three of you will have to fit in to the side car. The other will hold on to me."

"Isn't this dangerous and illegal?" Noah wondered. "You don't even have any helmets."

"It's only illegal if we're caught. And, kid, we're not going to get caught by the police." Wes replied. "They don't exist anymore. Although some would say they never existed in Orre in the first place. Now shut up, and get in. We're wasting too much time."

"I'll keep Charizard out." Red quickly said. "I can fly on his back."

"Fine, suit yourself." Wes said.

They recalled the Pokemon into the Pokeballs and got onto the bike. Toon Link and Noah were in the side car, and Zoroark, still disguised as a human, was behind Wes. Wes just turned on the bike and began to to drive. It wasn't long until they were at an oasis in the desert. Wes just pulled out a cell phone and checked a message. "Okay, we have a few minutes until the person gets here." He said.

"Who are you meeting up, and why?" Red asked.

"Oh, someone who wanted me to steal what was in the safe at the library." Wes replied. "They said if I could do it, they'd pay me. I guess introductions are finally in order. As I told you, I'm Wes. I'm a thief. Now why don't you tell me your names."

The Smashers just looked at each other. "I'm Nick." Zoroark said.

"I'm Noah."

"My name is Red."

"And my name is Link, but you can call me Toon Link, everyone else does." Toon link said. "Now about what you said, why would someone pay you for the books? Isn't money worthless?"

"Who said they were paying in money?" Wes wondered. "Food and water still exist, in this world there are things that much more valuable than money. And if they wanted two children's books that were in the safe for some reason, who am I to ask?"

"Wait, can we check those books out?" Red wondered.

"Sorry." Wes replied. "But I've got a family to feed. Besides, you can't read them."

He just opened them and revealed that they were in a different language. Red just stared blankly at it for a few seconds. "I don't even understand a single word on it! But... Going by the illustrations those are the books that we came for."

"You were looking for these books?" Wes wondered.

"Well, you see, I remembered the story from my childhood, and my mother reading them to me... and all the frozen statues and things, I couldn't remember them beyond that, but I thought perhaps reading the story could boost my memory and help inform us of the current situation on this planet." Red replied.

"Unfortunately, that really wouldn't have worked." A voice said. Appearing on the other side of the Oasis was the girl that the Smashers had rescued earlier.

"Who are you?" Wes asked.

"'The sleeping dragon lies with its treasure under the mountain, selfishly never wanting to let go of a single gold coin.'" Zinnia said.

"'The lone thief sneaks into the mountain, and takes only what he deemed necessary.'" Wes replied.

Noah just looked rather confused. "What are they even talking about?"

"They're talking in a prearranged message." Toon Link whispered.

"What? Why?" Noah wondered.

"It's to confirm their identities. They most likely haven't met face to face before." Toon Link replied.

"How do you know that?" Noah wondered.

"Tetra and her pirates taught me all about it." Toon Link laughed. "They also sent me a few times since apparently people would just think I'm a kid."

Wes was just walking towards Zinnia. She extended her hand. "I'm Zinnia," she said. "And you're Snagger Wes?"

"Yes." Wes replied.

Zinnia just smiled. "It looks like I picked the right person for the job. But who are these guys?"

"I don't know." Wes replied. "They haven't said much beyond that they aren't from this planet."

Zinnia just laughed. "Well then... in that case, I may have something to do with them as well."

Zinnia just walked towards the Smashers. "So we meet again. Are you by chance the Smashers?"

Everyone looked a bit surprised. They were shocked that she knew about them, despite their previous meeting being really brief. After a few seconds Red just stepped forwards. "Yes." He replied.

"I see, that's good for me then." Zinnia said. "I am a member of the Draconid Tribe. In our village there are many tales that have been passed down through generations. One such tale is in a time of crisis, a group known as the Smashers would come and protect us and our world. I hoped that you would one day show up, so I had hired Wes to obtain these books to help pass on the knowledge to you when you got here."

"We tried." Red sighed. "But these books were in a different language."

"That's fine, I can read them." Zinnia replied.

"And is that okay?" Zoroark wondered. "Is what happened in these stories going to be related to whats happening now? Are these stories going to be relevant?"

Zinnia just nodded. "Well, they're related slightly, but what happened in these stories are a bit different than our current situation. Sadly I don't know the full story, just some things. So make yourselves comfortable, there is much to discuss."

"Should we really be discussing this here?" Wes wondered. "More gangs could be just around the corner, and we're just going to be defenseless if we're like this, out in the open."

Zinnia just looked over at him. "You're right, we're going to your house."

"Wait! What?! Why my house?" Wes asked.

"Well it's the safest place. It's in the middle of nowhere."

"And yet you somehow know about it." Wes replied.

"I've just heard the rumors."

"Fine." Wes sighed defeated. "But we don't have much food for guests."

"Eh, don't worry about that. I think that will be a non issue." Toon Link laughed.

Wes just sighed. "Yeah, I think the bigger issue is how you're all going to fit in my bike... We can't travel by foot. There's too big of a chance we'll be followed that way..."

"I'll just ride my on Salamence." Zinnia said. "I can carry one other person."

The Smashers just recalled the Pokemon into the Pokeballs. Red however left out Charizard. "I can go on Charizard, unfortunately it's a one man ride."

"I'll go with Zinnia." Zoroark said.

"So, I guess Noah and I are squeezing in Wes' side car, again." Toon Link laughed.

And like that, they were off across the desert.

* * *

Mewtwo had flown around the planet, teleporting and inspecting every region he could find. It was all pretty much the same. The majority of people and Pokemon were petrified. There were very few survivors that he could see. If there were, they tried to stay out of sight.

He just landed on top of a cliff and looked down at the city below, and a forest behind his back. Traveling had exhausted him, and he needed a few minutes to recharge before he could go again. He was focusing so hard on the city in front of him, that he was surprised when he heard a stick snap right behind him.

"Oh, looks like we've got a traveler?" Someone said.

Silently, Mewtwo was cursing at himself. How did he not notice these people? Was he that exhausted? Mewtwo just let off a heavy sigh. "I have no desire to fight you." He said.

"Oh? Well in that case, you're going to hand over all your goods, and then we're going to let you go." The person said.

Mewtwo just laughed. "I have nothing on me."

"Oh yeah, why don't we see for ourselves." One laughed as he grabbed the cloak, and pulled it off. The next moment, his face was just transfixed with horror. "It's you?!"

The other people who were with the thief were also terrified. They just began to flee. Mewtwo just grabbed the now discarded cloak and put it back on, before teleporting right in front of one of the fleeing thieves.

Mewtwo froze him in place and began to use telepathy to read his mind. Several Pokemon attacks rushed for him. However Mewtwo just created a barrier around himself. The human just began to scream completely terrified.

Eventually, once Mewtwo go the information from the person, he just let him go and teleported away.

"_So, I have a shadowy doppelganger who has been terrorizing this planet..._" Mewtwo thought. "_Interesting..._"

* * *

The Smashers had made it to a house that was being shielded by numerous large rocks. Wes just walked up to the door, however it swung open. A red headed woman just rushed to meet him. "Wes, you were gone for quite a while." She looked around and noticed all of the people who were there. "Wes, what happened?"

"A lot." Wes replied. "I'm sorry but they're staying here while we explain everything."

"Wes we don't have the food to feed these people, or the Pokemon." Rui said.

Wes just nodded. "I know."

"Oh, don't worry about that, we have plenty of food." Toon Link said, slapping Noah's back. "Isn't that right?"

Noah just looked confused. "We do?" He said.

"Of course we do." Red said. "Master Hand wouldn't send us on a mission without food."

Noah was just staring rather blankly at them. "So... what about the last mission where he sent us out without food? And we stole from a territorial dragon?"

"Just open up the 3DS and find the food app." Red sighed.

Noah just looked confused at them. "There's no food app..." He muttered. He just began to go through the chosen champion's files, and eventually found something that slightly resembled a food app. "'Let's get Cooking'? Isn't this just a bunch of recipes?"

"Open it up." Toon Link sighed.

Reluctantly, Noah obeyed, and sure enough he just saw a bunch of pictures. He saw some bruschetta that looked tasty and just quickly pressed okay, thinking that he would be taken to a recipe. However, suddenly a plate of bruschetta appeared in front of them. Toon Link was quick to catch it.

"See, we have tons of food ready to be called on at any moment!" Toon Link said.

Noah just nodded a bit shocked.

"So, don't worry Miss, tonight dinner's on us!" Toon Link laughed.

Wes just laughed. "Well then, come on in everyone. This is my girlfriend Rui, and I'll introduce you to my siblings, Michael and Jovi."

They walked into the house and just sat around in a living room. The Smashers let out the Pokemon, and they just quickly all just relaxed. Two kids came running down the stairs. The first was a boy with red hair. The second was a girl blue hair. They just froze and looked at the people and Pokemon. Wes just stood behind them. "This is my little brother Michael." Wes said, lightly placing his hand on his brother's head and lightly ruffling it. "And this is my little sister, Jovi." He said as he lightly placed his hand on her shoulder. "This is Noah, Nick, Red, Toon Link, Zinnia and their Pokemon."

The two just nodded and sat down. They tried to do some idle chitchat. Red and Michael seemed to kick it off, and surprisingly Toon Link and Jovi were getting along. Zoroark was just giving Toon Link a strange look. "What, I have my own kid sister at home." Toon Link said. "I know how to handle them."

"If you say so." Zoroark growled. "But we came here to hear Zinnia's story. Not to get buddy, buddy with people."

"I have to agree with him." Noah meekly replied. "We have a lot to do here, and we still know next to nothing."

Zinnia was just reading through the books. "It's fine, I'm trying to read and translate. You've got plenty of time before I'm done. At least that's what I want to be saying." She just threw two other books onto the table they were identical to the other two books except in a different language. "Just so much was lost during the original translation!"

Michael just walked over and looked at the books. "I recognize these symbols!" He said.

Zinnia just looked at him a bit shocked. "How? Where?" She said. "This is the language of the Draconids!"

Michael suddenly clammed up, perhaps realizing he said something he shouldn't of. "Um... well..." Zinnia just glared at him, in a rather intimidating way. "There's some ruins near here, that Wes doesn't like me going to..." Michael said. "And well... I have seen some of these symbols here at those ruins..."

Zinnia's eyes just lit up. "Can you take me there?" She said. Michael just looked a bit afraid.

"If you're all with him, you can go." A voice said. Standing in the doorway was Wes. "Of course, that means I'm coming too."

Michael just lit up and they all got ready.

"Jovi want to come too!" Jovi said.

Wes just nodded. "As long as you stay close to me." Wes said. "I'll tell Rui where we're going."

Wes disappeared, a few minutes later he had joined everyone out front and they began to make their way to the ruins. "So some Draconids had made it all the way out here." Zinnia said rather excited.

"Just who are the Draconids?" Noah asked.

"An ancient tribe, that worshiped the Pokemon Rayquaza." Zinnia explained. "We were originally in Meteor Falls in Hoenn, however my grandmother did say that there used to be nomadic Draconids who traveled the world..."

They eventually made it to a cave descending into the ground. Michael just led the way. Soon they came to a chamber with a mural painted on the wall. Time had not been too kind to it. Some of it had been eroded away. Zinnia just walked up to it and began to read it. Eventually she just turned to another tunnel. "Follow me." She said.

"Um, these tunnels are really big, and easy to get lost in." Michael said.

"I know." Zinnia replied. "But don't worry, the Draconids had wrote down the correct path."

They just followed Zinnia down the twisted hallways, and through the ruins until they eventually came to a dead end. Zinnia just reached for the wall, and eventually pushed a stone, causing the wall to move, and open to another chamber. They just walked into the chamber. Everything was still. It was as though time itself had stopped in this room. "What is this place?" Noah asked.

Zinnia just walked over to a mural on the wall. Beneath it there was a fountain. "This is it!" Zinnia said. "This is what I've been looking for! The record of the Draconid nomads! Our history! Grandma, Aster, I found it." Zinnia just collapsed onto the ground and began to cry. "I'm so glad."

Wes just approached her. "Can you tell us what this says?" He asked.

She just looked up. "I can." She stood up and began to read. "For the most part it is about the history of the Draconids, about how we lived in Meteor Falls, and watched as those meteors constantly rained down and Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre fought. How Rayquaza appeared and stopped them from fighting. But there is a difference from the stories I've been told, a very big difference."

Everyone just stood there and listened attentively.

"A black meteor appeared." Zinnia said, her voice was shaking. "It created a civil war that led to the Draconids separating into two different tribes. A group that took the meteor and fled, and the group that stayed behind at Meteor Falls. The Nomadic Draconids traveled all throughout the world with the black meteor, however, it seemed to be cursed. Wherever they went with it, disaster seemed to strike in the form of pestilence, famine, war, and death. Soon they figured out it was the black meteor. A child had said that they had seen a black cloud emerge from it."

"A black cloud?" Michael said a bit confused.

"Yes, the inscriptions say that only those with special eyes could see this aura."

"Wait, this sounds exactly like the Shadow Pokemon!" Wes said rather shocked. "Only Rui could see their aura... and then later the Pokemon HQ lab developed the Aura Reader!"

"In the desert of Orre, they decided to seal away this black meteor. It then goes on to list the general location... saying that if you find the way to destroy it, here is where it is..." Zinnia said.

"So, is this black meteor the cause of everything?" Red asked. "It sounds like they believed it brought disaster wherever it went, but could it be responsible for the petrification of everything?"

"That's unlikely." Zinnia replied.

"But where is this black meteor held then?" Toon Link asked.

"Yeah, we should get it and find away to destroy it..." Noah said.

"That's unlikely." Zinnia said. "The text talks about trying to destroy it, they threw it into a volcano and it was fine. Sealing it away was all they could do. And even then, they said the northeastern area of Orre, right around here on this map."

Wes just looked shocked. Michael just looked up to his older brother. "Hey, big bro, are you okay?"

"I don't believe this..." Wes weakly muttered.

"I say we just go and find it, at the very least we can keep it at the Smash Mansion if it's dangerous." Toon Link said. "So let's go to those ruins."

"That's pointless." Wes suddenly said. "That meteor is no longer there."

"What do you mean no longer there?" Zinnia asked.

Wes had gone white. "It's a long story... It's best if we return back to my house..."

"Why can't you tell us here?" Zinnia wondered.

"Because, I need some of Rui's Pecha tea to calm down..." Wes replied.

Michael and Jovi were just completely shocked. They had never seen their brother like this.

"Very well." Zinnia said.

Zinnia just led them all through the ruins and back to the house. They entered and went back into the living room.

Wes just sighed. "I guess I should probably tell you about how the world was destroyed."

"Wait, you know?" Red said rather shocked.

"Yes." Wes replied. "I was there... when it broke loose and this all began."

Everyone just looked at him completely shocked. "Give me a few minutes, I need to prepare myself mentally for this, it is a long story, and only now am I realizing a few things."

"Right, just as long as we get our information."

Wes smiled "Thanks. Give me a few minutes, and you'll get your story." He walked out of the room, and the Smashers all just looked at each other, prepared and ready for whatever Wes may say.

Noah just had a giant smile across his face. "You're way too excited about this." Toon Link said.

"Yeah." Noah replied. "Sorry, but it certainly beats going to school."

"Can't argue with that." Toon Link laughed.

Red just nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

* * *

Hayden was just looking down at his cellphone. "School is boring lol" a text from Oren had appeared.

They had all ready gotten a message from Nugai, saying that Noah had been attacked, and that they should all be careful. Nugai had speculated that if they were going to strike it would be all at once. As powerful as he was, he couldn't be in four different places as once. They were also told to come to the mansion once school was over. But for right now it seemed like his last period was dragging on forever.

"I know, I want to get back home and play some games. lol!" A text from Rune appeared. They had decided to text in a code. If they were ever to mention the other world, it would just be as a mention of a game, and playing together online. They hoped that everyone could understand the context. If nothing else, if their phones were picked up by someone else, or some friends were reading over their shoulder, it would just seem like a normal conversation.

Hayden glanced up at the clock. School was dragging on, and he was only at his fourth out of five periods. He was half debating about skipping the fifth period, but considering Zenith had made their move, then it might be a bit harder to escape them if he left now. He imagined that it would be easier to get through their defenses if he went with the crowd of other students.

The teacher had announced that everyone was to do their own independent study session for a test that was tomorrow. Some people had grouped together to 'go over the material' and by that, they just talked with their friends.

Alex was the source of much gossip around the school, and today was no different. "I heard that his cousin was insane, guess the apple doesn't fall that far from the tree."

Hayden just sighed. How many times had he seen it? That they were effortlessly made into the villains. He knew people were afraid and that they were always looking for a scapegoat. Always looking for a target, one that they could just blame and ridicule and then return back to their ignorant lives. Hadyen let out a small sigh. How long would it take for his peers to turn against him? Right now he could easily turn to anyone in the class and just ask about a certain subset of questions, but he figured by the end of the day, he would no longer be able to come back to the school.

He figured studying for this test was pointless. No, he knew that he wouldn't be coming back to school tomorrow. And every time he looked up at the clock, it just seemed to get slower, and slower, like he was waiting for his own execution.

The bell rang to signify the end of the fourth period. He just gathered his stuff up, and made his way through the hallways to his fifth period class. Thankfully for him it was just gym, so he was active, and capable of venting a little bit of steam. 15 minutes before the bell they were just let go, and he made his way back to the change rooms. He quickly got changed, finding it rather pointless to take a shower. He knew he was sweating, and probably smelled disgusting, but right now, he saw that was pointless. No one else ever did, they would just rush home to take a shower there, and in the mean time spray an ungodly amount of body spray in the change rooms.

He just made his way back to his locker and opened it up. He then looked inside. He briefly considered leaving everything, eventually just leaving the text books. He was about to put the lock back on the locker, however he had grown rather fond of the stupid thing, and it's combination. After how many years it was now apart of him. He could unlock it without even looking down. He just pocketed it and began to make his way through the hallways.

The final bell rang, and the halls quickly filled up with students making their way out. Hayden just found a crowd and went with the flow out to the city buses, where they would be driven and transferred to a mall where they could travel further using the city buses to their houses.

However the crowd suddenly stopped. There was an air of confusion. Hayden could see why, there were two people fully dressed in suits waiting right in front of the buses. They were serious and constantly scanning the crowd, looking for their target; him. They were asking to see everyone's student ID or any other form of identification.

Hayden just let off a heavy sigh. "Let's just get this over with." He hated pointless delays, and was pretty sure many other students did too. He stepped forwards through the crowd, and looked straight at the two suits. "Oi, morons, I'm your target."

They looked at each other, and then back at Hayden. They cross checked a photo, and then eventually said, "Hayden, you're under arrest for conspiracy and terrorism. Any all attempts at resistance will be dealt with with force."

Hayden just looked at the two people in suits rather bored, and annoyed. Students were backing away. "Nugai had informed me that you all ready tried to get Noah." Hayden said. "And that everyone else should be on guard."

"At this moment, all the other chosen champions should be getting arrested. All we'll have to worry about is the two in the other world and Nugai."

Hayden just laughed. "Oh boy... I'm almost offended."

"What?"

"Sending only two people for me." Hayden sighed.

"Careful." one of the suits said. "They have some strange power..."

"Oh, indeed we do." Hayden said. "But my unique power, is next to useless in combat."

"You shouldn't have said that, kid." One laughed.

Hayden let off a small sigh. "We also have powers based upon what game is in the cartridge slot."

"Oh? And what good will that do?"

"Everything." Hayden replied. "I've been experimenting, so I know a few things of what does what. Of course, it's not limited to what's in the cartridge. It can also be what's downloaded on your system."

"You're stalling, it's not going to save you."

Hayden just laughed. "I don't need to stall."

"Well then, prove it."

Hayden just nodded. "Okay then. Sorry, but, you're going to instantly regret this."

"I don't see how-" The next thing he knew was that Hayden had disappeared, and a sword had impaled him right through the heart. He glanced to see that Hayden was right behind him, and he just pulled out the sword. The next moment he fell down dying.

Students began to scream terrified, running away, and getting onto the various buses.

Hayden let off a small sigh. "You're probably wondering what just happened, well, I'm sorry, but I don't feel like explaining it since it won't do you any good." Floating in front of Hayden were three hourglasses. Two had their sand at the bottom, however the third and final one the sand was now at the top and slowly falling into the bottom.

The other person just looked at him rather shocked. "You just killed someone!"

Hayden just nodded. "Yeah, I did." he swung the sword to get the blood off of it. He just looked up at the remaining person in the suit. "Explain to me why you're shocked about that? You came at me with the intention to capture me dead or alive. Sorry, but I have no intention of being captured. I need to go help the others, as Nugai can't help everyone by himself."

"Too bad, you're not going to leave here!" the suit said, drawing a gun.

Hayden just sighed. "I was really hoping my last day of school was going to be a little less eventful." He just stared at the person holding the gun. The suit was slightly shaking. "Do you know what it means to kill someone?" Hayden wondered. "To end a life?"

"I don't want to hear that from you." The person said.

"This may surprise you, but he wasn't the first person I've killed." Hayden sighed. "Well, in this timeline he was. But he certainly won't be the last." The man suddenly found himself paralyzed in fear. "My ability has very little practical uses during battle. But it can perhaps be one of the cruelest to exist. To both you and me..."

Hayden just stretched his arm out, and wiggled his fingers. What happened next was that the Zenith agent's body had moved on it's own, his gun was resting right on his temple, ready to blow his brains out in a moments notice. Hayden had assumed a similar position, just using his fingers as a mock gun.

"Have you ever watched a video on youtube, of someone playing a game through emulation?" Hayden wondered. "Like a super hard Mario World hack? And how if they screw up, they immediately hit a button to send them back in time a few seconds, but it wasn't long enough and they'd just keep dying, again and again?"

BANG

The Zenith agent had pulled the trigger. Blasting his brains out.

"My ability is not that." Hayden said.

The man was gasping for air, he just looked terrified. He had seen death. His own death. He knew that there was nothing that he could do that would stop him from dying here.

"What the hell?!" The man said, as he pulled the trigger and blew out his brains once again.

BANG

"There is another advantage that emulation holds." Hayden said. "The ability to create and abuse a savestate. And that is my power."

"WHAT?"

BANG

"You've died 3 times now, and you were fully aware of it." Hayden sighed. "Perhaps soon, you'll break, and I won't even need to force you to pull that trigger."

BANG

"You see, all I did was create a savestate." Hayden sighed. "The moment that gun touched the side of your head, I created a savestate. And we're the only two people that are aware of it."

BANG

"Every time you die, I just reload that savestate." Hayden said. "You get to experience the same humiliating defeat, and each and every time, you keep all of that knowledge, and then..."

BANG

"You come back right to the start to do it all over again." Hayden said.

"Fu-"

BANG

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Hayden sighed. "Language. This is a school! Not that anyone here hasn't used or heard that before."

BANG

"But that's not my only power. We can all briefly fuse with the Smashers we've been assigned with, and gain their power." Hayden said. "We don't even need to fuse, I can just borrow that power whenever I please. I guess I was lucky in getting a psychic, who could easily control other people. The two abilities work quite well together, don't you think?"

BANG

"I'm much like Nugai, in that I know what's going to happen, because I've experienced it a few times before. But this is definitely new."

BANG

"I've only got 5 save states. I got one to hard reset, and send me back all the way to the first night that this began." Hayden sighed. "The other four, I can use and play with freely. So if some idiot thinks that he can capture me..."

BANG

"Well, I can just do this the whole time." Hayden laughed.

"You're mad?!"

BANG

"You were shocked, when I killed the other person." Hayden said. "Well, I don't think you should be. Curiosity killed the cat, and I saw what sort of things would happen if I went with you. Let's just say, you're getting off easy."

BANG

"Playing this game, seeing new paths that open up, and new things that happen." Hayden sighed. "That's all I've got to live for nowadays. Because of you, and Zenith and trying to fuse the worlds together."

BANG

"You talk too much..." The person said, clearly beginning to break.

"Sorry, you have to get it out of your system somehow." Hayden laughed.

BANG

"Seeing the hell on earth that this world becomes if we fail..." Hayden said. "That's why I can kill without hesitation."

BANG

"But, I'm glad, after all those times I went through different results, and all those times that we fought, it was beginning to look hopeless, but it looks like Nugai has finally figured something out. There's now a light at the end of the tunnel. It finally looks like there will be a change..."

BANG

"It's strange, after all this time we've spend bonding, I think we've built up a strange camaraderie and have come to understand each other." Hayden said. "I'm almost sad that I have to kill you."

BANG

People screamed out in horror. The body fell down and hit the ground.

"Because I can't let Zenith know about my power." Hayden sighed. "_They all ready cause enough problems with access to the Morpohgenetic Field, if they had someone who could start over at zero... We wouldn't even stand the small chance we have_."

Hayden just began to rush through the crowd, and into the school. He had to find the others. If he had to guess, he imagined that Nugai was looking over Marco at the moment. Being the only one who was at a different school. Leaving, Echo, Rune, Oren and himself here.

He made it to the front of the school, where four people in suits had surrounded Rune.

Rune was trying to struggle. However they were raising weapons to attack and restrain him.

Hayden just dashed forwards.

The next thing Rune knew was that all four of them were dead, and he was standing a meter away from them. Right by his side was Hayden. Rune looked rather confused, and then surprised.

"What was that?" Rune asked.

"Bravely Second." Hayden replied. "Basically, I can freeze time to do one thing."

"Oh, wow, sweet!" Rune said rather excited. "Is that your power? Can you do it all the time?"

Hayden just shook his head. "No." He replied. "Something this powerful has major limitations. First of all, I only have 3 shots, and they have a long recharge period."

"Oh..." Rune said. "How long?"

"8 hours, for a recharge time." Hayden said. "However, only one can charge at a time. So, if I use another one, it won't start charging until this one is done. So at worst, if I used all 3, then well I just have to wait a day. 16 hours now, since I've used two so far."

"I see." Rune said. "I guess it would be too easy just to use it to sneak behind all of our enemies and quickly dispose of them..."

Hayden nodded. "Yes. And even after activating it, you have to know what you want to do, you can't stand around, because, I think I only have a maximum of five seconds to do it."

"Okay."

"And it's a power that a game holds." Hayden said. "Anyways, I think we better move on. Any idea where Oren and Echo are?"

"No idea."

There was more screams coming from the back of the school. Hayden just looked rather annoyed, hardly having any time to catch his breath. "Come on..." He muttered.

The two just bolted through the crowds of students. Eventually making it to see two people with numerous weapons impaling them. Oren was just leaning on a staff, using it to support himself.

"We've got to get out of here, any idea where Echo is?" Hayden asked, grabbing Oren and pulling him along.

"I think he was in music club practice or something." Oren said.

"Okay."

They rushed through the hallways. Much to their relief, the people from Zenith hadn't entered the school. As they approached the music room, they entered it and quickly found Echo. "Echo, we need to get out of here." Hayden said, gasping for air, not really caring about the odd looks from all the other students.

Echo just nodded, put away the musical instrument he was setting up, and they quickly followed them, out to the back of the school where the city buses should have been to pick them up.

However it was completely abandoned. Not a soul remained, not even the corpses of the Zenith suits. Something was wrong.

"Are we in a trap?!" Hayden shouted afraid.

There was a single person approaching them. He was dressed up in a suit, and he was applauding. "Bravo, bravo." He said. "That was quite a splendor to watch." To the four students, there was no mistaking who this person was. The local success story, and a private sponsor of the school. None other than Zenith's CEO was standing right in front of them; Thomas. "You have completely exceeded all of my expectations."

"What do you want?!" Hayden snapped, stepping up in front of everyone else to protect them.

"Well for starters, all of you to stop interfering with Zenith's plans." Thomas said.

"I don't think the CEO should of come here." Oren laughed. "We can kill you and end it all right now!"

Several folders appeared around Thomas, and weapons came flying out ready to impale him. Any normal person would have been skewered, but all of the weapons were just effortlessly knocked away by what appeared to be the air itself.

Thomas just let off a small sigh. "If you think of this as the game, and you as the heroes, this is the part where you've just met with the final boss, only an hour in, and you can't do anything to save yourselves. You can only run."

Hayden just looked at everyone. He had no doubt that they were surrounded by hidden guards. If he used his final Bravely Second to kill Thomas, they probably wouldn't get away. "Everyone, touch me." Hayden whispered. "When I give the signal, dash for the school. We can hide in there, somewhere. There's still students and some teachers in there. They can't try anything too crazy..."

The three others just nodded. He breathed in and activated his final Bravely Second. Everything froze. The colors became negative. "Go!" Hayden shouted. He just dashed towards Thomas, while the other three went towards the school. He began to summon his sword, however Thomas suddenly began to move.

"Do you really think that was going to work?" Thomas wondered.

Hayden just turned around as quickly as he could to try and make it back to the school. "_What the hell? How could he do anything while Bravely Second was active?!_"

The next moment Thomas appeared in front of Hayden, tripping him, and causing Hayden to fall and skid across the ground. Thomas followed up by stepping on Hayden's back, and stopping him from getting up. "Right now, you're probably wondering something along the lines of 'What the hell? How could he do anything while Bravely Second was active?' And your next line will be, 'how do you know the name of Bravely Second.'"

"How do you know the name of Bravely Second!?" Hayden stammered out shocked.

"Well, it's such a shame, you're never going to find out." Thomas said. He was reaching towards Hayden, ready to go in for the kill.

Time resumed back to normal. All Hayden could feel was a gust of wind. There was a loud snapping sound behind him. He just slowly turned around to see Nugai standing above him. Thomas had been sent flying back. "Sorry I was late." Nugai said. "Marco had an unusually large amount of guards trying to catch him, and I guess I can see why. They were anticipating I was watching over him."

Hayden just looked up in shock.

"Andrew, after so long we finally see each other face to face once again." Thomas said.

"Well, it's not exactly going to be a happy grade school reunion." Nugai sighed. He just quickly helped Hayden up. "Go in to the school and create a portal to the other world and escape!" He ordered. Hayden just nodded and quickly began to rush to the school building.

Nugai just watched over him to make sure no one tried anything. When Hayden had closed the door to the school, Nugai just turned his attention back to Thomas. "So, how did you know who they all were?"

"Oh we saw them reemerge Saturday night." Thomas replied. "Got photo's of all of them all too. We could have struck at any time, but it was that one brat who forced our hands. If they knew that we were watching over them, it took away our element of surprise..."

"Wouldn't the better move have been to just not act." Nugai wondered. "If you could strike at any time, and they knew you were watching, they could just be super paranoid the whole time. "

Thomas just glared at Nugai. "They could freely escape whenever. I figured by the end of this week, they would be back in the other world, perhaps permanently. You could easily remove any trace of them existing, from their friends, family..."

Nugai just nodded. "You got me there. Personally, I was hoping that we could wait until July to move them over full time. But I wouldn't say it was Noah forcing your hand forcing us to move there... It was more just the results of the weekend that resulted in an acceleration of our plans."

Thomas just laughed. "You should of kept them there."

"Maybe that was the better option." Nugai replied. "Still I can't help but think this is quite the departure from your old self. Weren't you the best chess player in our grade? Always calm, always collected, always keeping your moves one step ahead. Always taking the opportunity to beat me? Why would the king come out to greet me personally."

"You still think too highly of yourself." Thomas sighed.

Nugai just ignored the taunt. "I doubt this is a feint, masking your true intentions." Nugai said, thinking through it out loud. "If it was, you'd have no reason to be here. Unless that was a part of your feint... unless your real goal was for me to be here and..." Nugai just turned to face the school. "You wanted them in there..."

"Your advice of telling them to escape to the other world in there will lead them to their doom." Thomas laughed, turning away. "This is checkmate, Nugai. If they open a portal, they'd be going right into a Zenith HQ. Not to mention there are plenty of other Zenith soldiers ready to apprehend them. I just wanted them to think that the school was a safe place for them. They're as good as dead."

"Check." Nugai replied.

Thomas just froze. He looked back at Nugai. "What?"

"The one time I got you into check." Nugai laughed. "Just recalling that, and the look on your face is hilarious. You were so mad. Here I was, someone much weaker than you, scratching your so called perfect defense. And ruining your perfect plans... I knew you had people waiting in there..."

"And you sent them in there anyways."

"But who ever said that they went into the school though?" He just motioned towards the door. "There was another reason, that I took a bit too long to show up. I was setting up a small trap of my own, I guess. The moment they entered through that door, they entered into a portal that sent them to the Smash Mansion. They never needed to make a portal. So I guess I win this round."

Thomas' face went red with anger. "And that will be the last round you win!"

He rushed forwards towards Nugai, pulling out a concealed knife. Getting ready to stab him. However time suddenly froze. Thomas was just frozen in place, and looked rather surprised. "You thought I wouldn't have noticed you activating a time stop first." Nugai sighed. "I'll say these as our parting words. You said that this was the part where the heroes met with the villain for the first time in the game only an hour into it? Don't think so highly of yourself."

Thomas broke free of being frozen in place and swung the knife right at Nugai, however it hit a barrier. "You... I'll kill you and put an end to your interfering!" The knife began to cut through the barrier.

"Anti Aura." Nugai laughed. "Of course."

Nugai just summoned and swung his sword, causing it to collide with the knife and send a shock wave of energy right through Thomas' body. Thomas just collapsed, and could only look at Nugai terrified.

"I know we were never friends." Nugai said. "We only were there and hung out because we shared a friend. So I'm just saying this right now as an old acquaintance: stop it! Stop Zenith's plans. You're being used."

"It's too late to stop it!" Thomas replied. "I can never stop it. I will never stop it."

Nugai just nodded rather sadly. "I see."

Thomas was rather pissed off. "What's that's it? Just a simple 'I see.' You're not going to ask why?"

"Asking 'why?' is pointless at this point in time." Nugai replied. "It doesn't mater, your answer isn't going to change anything. It's not going to shed light on the situation, it's not going to change my mind. And I'm not going to say anything that will change your mind."

Thomas just looked furious. "This is all your fault, you know that right? It's all because of you. You let him be killed! You could have saved his life! Instead you just let him die of cancer!"

Nugai just stood there.

"I could of as well, but my power to cross between the worlds was stripped from me!" Thomas shouted. "You didn't lift a finger! You're just going to take some righteous path, about how such a thing would be abused in our world. But you're just full of shit! You're nothing more than a hypocrite!"

Nugai just flinched.

"Oh, did I strike a nerve there on the stoic Nugai?" Thomas laughed. "Did I get through Andrew's antisocial shell? You think we didn't know? About how when someone in your family is dying, you'll gladly use the other world to save their life. And they don't even have to be related to you through blood!"

Nugai just sighed. "Thomas, shut up."

"Oh, is that all I get out of you?" Thomas laughed. "You who used to cry at the drop of a hat? So, why don't you defend your actions, tell me why your precious little adopted cousin deserved to live, when someone else is suffering and you turned a blind eye!"

"Is that all you want? A reason?" Nugai said.

"Yeah!" Thomas laughed. "Humor me, what justification do you have?"

Nugai just laughed. "Back then, I never thought of the other world like that. I didn't think to go get the cure to cancer. I was just what, an 11 or 12 year old kid, playing video games. That's all it was to me. A different way to play video games. But... even if I did, I don't think I would have gone out of my way to help him."

Thomas' eyes flared up in anger. "WHAT?" He shouted. "You would have let him die?!"

Nugai shrugged. "I guess I would of."

"Why because of some justice?" Thomas asked. "How it's wrong, to get the cure for cancer. How others would use everything in the other world as weapons to kill and fight their wars? Or are you just some heartless bastard?"

"No, nothing like that." Nugai replied. "As a kid, I don't think I would have cared about any of that. I guess the real question is, what would have been in it for me?"

"Why, you could patent it, make billions, be set for life!"

"Don't you think that's a very adult answer?" Nugai sighed. "As a kid though, could I patent the cure to cancer? Someone along the way could easily screw me. And I wouldn't be able to prove that I discovered it. This wasn't the years of always online, connected to social media, or Youtube. I couldn't just put out a video saying "Here's how to make the cure to Cancer. PS it's in the public domain, suck it" and it would be time stamped, everyone would know. On that note, how would I be able to prove that, or go through the process of recreating it. And even then, as a kid, would I even care about that? That was what, 1998, 1999? We were all afraid of Y2K because we were all too stupid to actually set the clock on the PC forwards to December 31st, 1999 and see what happened when it became 2000. Not to mention as a kid, money meant very little, I didn't know the value of money, or property, or anything like that. Food, clothing, and shelter was provided by my parents. As a kid, any luxuries I wanted was always video games, and that was just a month or two of saving my allowance."

"You keep going on and on with 'as a kid this', 'as a kid that' would you just shut up and get to your point already?" Thomas snapped.

"But that is the point, because as a kid, he bullied me." Nugai said. "He didn't like me, and in return I didn't like him. And I avoided him. That's just it, a petty childhood squabble."

"And because of that you wouldn't of gotten that cure?"

"We're talking purely hypothetical. But yes. Why would I do any different? So things could go back to the way they were beforehand? While he was in the hospital I had one less aggressor to worry about." Nugai said.

"You're a monster. You're a heartless bastard, Andrew." Thomas laughed.

"Am I?" Nugai wondered. "Maybe I am, but you kind of have to be if you're standing up against the world." Nugai said walking away.

"So, you're just going to let me live? Let me continue everything?"

Nugai glanced back and just drew his sword. "I could kill you right now. But it will do nothing. Everything will just move on, as though you never existed. Zenith is in a state where it doesn't need you anymore. And honestly, at this point I'm just looking forwards to the look on your face when you realize that you're nothing more than a puppet."

Thomas just glared at Nugai. "Just keep waiting for that..."

"I will." Nugai laughed, walking away. A portal opened and he just went through it. "And to answer your other question, how saving Alex's life was different than saving someone who was dying of cancer, well, Alex will be the one who will destroy Zenith. So, he was still of use to me."

As soon as it closed, and Nugai was in front of the Smash Mansion, he just collapsed. "Damn it, that was terrifying." He muttered.

He just looked up to see 4 rather wet and frustrated chosen champions. The one detail that Nugai had forgot to mention was that the portal led directly above the Smash Mansion's pool. "You couldn't have opened the portal somewhere else?" Hayden said.

Nugai just glanced at all of them and snapped his fingers. The next moment they were all dry. "Sorry, sorry, you didn't give me much time to work when you activated that Bravely Second." Nugai replied.

"How could he move during that?" Hayden asked.

"Zenith, has been very resourceful in the past." Nugai replied. "That's about the best answer I can give you."

"Oh goody..." Hayden muttered. "I look forwards to more of your non-answers."

Nugai just glared at Hayden. "If I had to wager a guess, then, I'd say it's something like the Adamant Orb, they studied it, and Dialga's power over time. Or any other creature, or person that has the power to stop time in this world, and have been able to create something similar."

"There, was that so hard?" Hayden wondered.

Nugai just let off a sigh. "Anyways, we've got a situation. Noah is trying to take care of it, but who knows if he will need back up." Nugai said. "Go observe him, I've got another mess to clean up."

"Another mess?" Echo said a bit confused.

"Yeah, erasing hundreds of people's minds, cellphones, texts, and much more." Nugai said. "Making sure your parents don't start questioning why you're not home for dinner tonight, or the rest of their lives... Sorry."

Hayden just laughed. "All right."

"Damn it." Nugai sighed. "I was at least hoping we could wait until the weekend... Memories and stuff is just so much easier to alter on the weekend..."

"Why?" Echo inquired.

"Oh, just then, the majority of people are not thinking about stuff." Nugai replied. "People are just relaxing. Work or what happened is normally the furthest thing away from their minds."

* * *

Thomas was furious as he walked through the front doors of Zenith's offices. "Being used?!" He snapped. "I'll show him! Zero! Zero, where are you?!" However Zero didn't appear. "Get that idiot in my office in 10 minutes!" Thomas snapped at some assistants, as he stomped through the hallways and into his office. He just poured some expensive wine and began to drink it while he waited.

A few minutes later Zero just appeared in the office. "You know, I do have a life that I'm trying to blend into. This double life is hard enough, but..."

Thomas just glared at the cloaked figure. "I don't care." He said bluntly. "I have a new job for you. Find and kill Nugai! Do it! Make him suffer!"

"I refuse." Zero said.

Thomas just crushed the glass of wine that he was drinking. "What?"

"I said, 'I refuse.'" Zero repeated.

"I thought killing Nugai was your goal?" Thomas said with gritted teeth.

"It was." Zero replied. "However having met him, I now know that I currently have no way of winning against him. However, I feel that there are things that I can do to weaken him. Right now, he's looking for his cousin. He believes that he is still alive. In the event that his is, and I'm able to find him before he does. Nugai will no doubt listen and our demands and lay down his life to protect him."

Thomas wasn't amused. "Really?" He scowled. "That kid was blown up on the Bottle Ship, you reported that."

Zero just nodded. "That's correct, however our scans have detected a rift there." Behind Zero a monitor appeared out of thin air, and on it was a picture of a rift. "Our scans, and probes detected that it doesn't go back to the Bionis. And this mech came out, and attacked the ship that was sent to intercept Commander Malchovich or any survivors that were in the Bottle Ship. Even if he couldn't create a portal to escape, Alex might be in that world, or any others where he just stumbled through due to pure dumb luck."

"And what if this is a wild goose chase?" Thomas asked.

"Then that's that, and I wasted a bunch of time. But so has he." Zero said. "I don't know why you're concerned about this, Zenith has won countless times before. It is Nugai who just keeps on resisting, trying to change fate."

Thomas just sighed. "You're right, Andrew can't win, no matter what he does. He's trapped... You're dismissed Zero."

"Of course." Zero said, before teleporting away.

Thomas just collapsed on his chair and looked up at the ceiling. "You're wrong Andrew, I'll show you!"

* * *

Claus and Dark Pit had made it to a clearing, the two of them were gasping for air. "Okay, take a break." Dark Pit said. "Our ride will be here in a flash."

Claus just looked up at the dark angel confused, only to see him pull out a whistle from inside his toga. He just blew on it, and no less than 30 seconds later, in the clearing there were two unicorns. Their hooves seemed to be like lightning. They had a pink mane that looked both like it had been styled, but blowing in the wind. Their horn looked like a crystal. On them were reigns, and behind them was a chariot.

Dark Pit just approached the two unicorns. "This is Phos, and Lux." Dark Pit said. "And our ride out of here."

Claus just looked surprised. He slowly approached the majestic unicorns. He felt moved just by being in their presence. "Wow." Claus muttered. "How did you get them?"

"I'm borrowing them." Dark Pit replied. "Their actually Pit's, he got them from the Chariot Master during our previous battle with Hades."

"And Pit won't need them?" Claus wondered.

"Eh, they're exchanged between The Forces of Nature, and Palutena's Army all the time." Dark Pit replied. "Don't worry about it. He's on our side after all. Now then, we need to get out of here."

Claus just nodded. They both boarded the chariot. "Hold on." Dark Pit said. "Sorry, but this thing doesn't come with any seatbelts." He just grabbed the reigns and snapped them. The next moment Phos and Lux were off.

Up above the tree tops, Kirby saw them fly away. He just pulled out a cell phone. "I found them." Kirby said.

"Okay. Where are they now?" Lily asked.

"They have flown away on a chariot. They're rather fast, but I think I can still follow them." Kirby replied. He just watched as they began to get further and further away.

On the other end Lily was silent, and pondering what to do as quickly as possible. "Follow them!" She said. "But don't let them know you're following them!"

"All right!" Kirby replied. Suddenly Kirby pulled out what appeared to be feathers. "Legendary Air Ride Machine Dragoon!" He placed it on the warpstar and it suddenly began to transform, turning into a pink, and white machine, with rainbow colored feathers on the back. Kirby just blasted off, following after the Lightning Chariot.

* * *

At Skyworld, Magnus had walked into Palutena's temple. The swordsman just looked around. He was a bit unnerved, there was something in the air. Purity? Was someone like him who fought and killed countless people really allowed here? Palutena was just standing in front of a basin of water.

"Welcome Magnus."

Magnus just looked around, the amount of whiteness here hurt his eyes. "You called for me?" Magnus wondered.

"Ah, yes, are you ready for your next training exercise?" Palutena wondered.

Magnus just looked over at her. "Of course." He said.

"This is a cruel and evil trial." Palutena sighed. "You will either die, or become stronger. There is no in between."

Magnus just laughed. "I need to be strong enough to beat Hades." He said. "That's it, right? We're using whatever means necessary so I'm a good asset to the Smashers."

Palutena just nodded. "If that is how you feel about it. Please follow me."

She just walked, and Magnus followed. The six spirits that Magnus had befriended also followed.

"I wonder what Lady Palutena has planned for him." Aias said.

"Wait... this path..." Priam said. "It can't be!"

"It is." Palutena said.

Priam just froze. "No way. He's only a human! He won't survive it! No spirits or angels have survived!"

Magnus just laughed. "Oh?" He wondered. "All of a sudden this sounds fun."

"I had observed a human tribe of warriors that created this trial. And I adapted it." Palutena said. "Even they had difficulty, and only 5 of their warriors ever succeeded in clearing it."

They came to a clearing. At one end there was an obvious trail that began to go towards a cliff. "It's called the 77 Rings. You travel along the 10km long trail, involving stairs, cliffs you have to climb, and rivers that you have to cross. Along the way, you will face 77 centurions. Each one you will have to fight seriously."

"Those wimpy things?" Magnus laughed. "No problem. I took them out like they were cannon fodder before."

Palutena just nodded. "True, but you didn't let me finish." She said. "Each Centurion will have a metal ring on their body, after you beat them, you will have to then put on that metal ring. It is a sign of the proof of your victory. And you will have to carry all those metal rings until you get to the very end. Once put on, they can't be removed until you reach the end. Individually they don't weigh that much, but together they will exceed 200 pounds."

"I see." Magnus said. "Once I start, I can't quit. All right. That seems easy enough. Just win my fights, survive, and put on the rings."

"Yes." Palutena said. "And don't worry about killing the Centurions, I can bring them right back."

"All right then." Magnus laughed.

"And before you actually start, I think there is one other thing I should mention." Palutena said. "I'm giving you a time limit. 3 days. 72 hours."

Magnus just nodded. "All right."

An hourglass appeared, and Palutena tossed it to him, he caught it effortlessly. "It will start as soon as you start the first battle." She said.

"All right." Mangus said walking away to the first clearing and the first Centurion.

The six fighters were just looking rather shocked. "Lady Palutena. Why did you give him the time limit?! He can't rest, not even for a moment if he wants to pass this!" Lycus said in protest.

"That's correct." Palutena replied. "He knows how dangerous the situation is. How he needs to get stronger to fight Hades."

"You didn't even tell him how this challenge differs from the other version." Castor said.

Palutena just nodded. "That doesn't matter." She said. "I think he'll figure it out soon enough."

Magnus had all ready slain the first Centurion. It had disappeared in a puff of smoke, just leaving behind a gold ring that Magnus touched. Immediately it warped around his leg. "All right, 76 more to go."

He just stepped forwards.

Palutena began to walk away. "I'll be waiting Magnus. Hopefully you can succeed." She said to herself. There was three major changes to the trial that the warriors had used. The first, at the final destination, there was a beacon constantly putting out a great deal of pressure, the same one that froze them in place. As he got closer, it would get stronger and he'd also have that to contend with along with the increasing weight, his own exhaustion, and the opponents.

The other change was perhaps a lot more sinister. The rings reflected his mental state, they would never decrease past their intended weight. But every time Magnus thought that the task at hand was becoming difficult, or was worried about the time remaining, they would increase in weight.

She had intentionally given him such a short amount of time in order to make sure that he could maintain composure no matter what the situation. "I need to find something." Palutena thought. "in the event that he succeeds, he's going to need to test his newfound strength."

However there was a second reason for the time limit. The third change, which was perhaps the deadliest. He only had 3 days to complete the challenge because the rings were letting out spiritual power. If he didn't complete it in time, and get the rings off, the spiritual power that was constantly going into his body would most likely begin having a negative effect.

It was believed that for a human, who had rarely been exposed to spiritual energy, 3 days was the overdose point where their body would no longer be able to take it, and they would die. However Palutena at least believed that in the worst case scenario with Magnus, due to his exposure to spiritual energy in the past, and briefly fusing with Pit, he would at least have a few extra hours after that.

Of course only time would be able to tell.

* * *

**File 1**

**Do you want to save?**

**YES**

**Party: Noah, Lucario, Zoroark, Greninja, Red, Charizard, Ivysaur, Squirtle, Toon Link, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pichu, Mewtwo**

**7 Chosen Champions Remain**

* * *

**Notes: Badge Arcade... I love and yet hate it at the same time... Boy am I glad that I can control myself with that thing, and just mainly do freeplays... (I've only really bought for the "8 buy 5 plays get a badge of Badge Bunny", and maybe 5 other times I've bought a play... Thankfully the vast majority of badges being mainly Mario, kind of helps keeping me from buying...  
**

**His name in this... ******"Baito Badgegrab" is kind of made up.** He really doesn't have real name... Officially he's referred to as Arcade Bunny, or Badge Bunny. Baito is I think his Japanese name, or what he's refereed to in the game files. Baito being (I think) the Japanese word for a part timer. Badgegrab comes from one of the skits, a Pokemon one, where he introduced himself as Professor Badgegrab. I just went with Baito Badgegrab because alliteration!  
**

**Wes and Michael's Pokemon: All of them can be obtained in their respective games. With the exception of Dusknoir since that's a gen 4 pokemon and they're in Gen 3 games. But I figured having Duskclops instead of a Dusknoir was a bit weird... especially next to all of the other fully evolved pokemon.**

**The Pokemon they were facing was Shadow Mewtwo from Pokken Tournament.**

**The Food App: Basically, just a combination of Personal Trainer Cooking, and America's Test Kitchen Let's Get Cooking for the DS. Only instead of recipes it just makes the food magically appear out of the ether or something. Or it's like the replicator from Star Trek. I don't know.**

**The 77 Rings is from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, it was not in the anime. It was actually one of the few things that was cut in the anime. It's in the backstory of two of the characters (Bruford and Tarkus) in Part 1, a challenge that they had did while they were living.**

**I felt like there may have been too much focus on the OC's here... I was just figuring get them out of the real world, and get them into the games. Other than that hmm...**


	14. Shadows of the Past

**Wow, a rather quick update, what's the occasion? Nothing really... Just it's shorter than a lot of the others because it's only exposition and flashbacks!**

* * *

Chapter 14: Shadows of the past

Wes walked in carrying a mug of tea, Rui, Michael, and Jovi followed carrying a few more mugs for Zinnia, Noah, Zoroark, Red and Toon Link. "Here, have some of Rui's Pecha Berry tea." Wes said.

"Thank you." Red said. The rest of the Smashers politely accepted it. They took a few quick sips and were rather surprised at how good it tasted.

"I guess I should start at the very beginning of this story..." He glanced over at Michael and Jovi. "We are not biological siblings. I was adopted into their family. And I'm going to start this tale with my life beforehand..."

Wes just sat down in a chair, and took a sip of the tea.

"I never knew my real parents, and I was raised by a man named Gonzap." Wes said. "Gonzap, well, any time I asked him who my parents were, and where I was from, he told me that my parents had a debt to pay to him. And until they got the money, he would keep me and I wouldn't see them. All they would know about me was that I was okay in a photo that he allegedly sent once every month. Orre was such a garbage dump, I honestly believed it. Nowadays, I think that's a load of crap. He probably found me in a dumpster, and had some form of human emotion in his heart. He trained me to be a thief since I could walk, and talk. He said people would never suspect a kid..."

* * *

A young boy with platinum blond hair just quickly dashed through the streets.

"Thief! Get back here you stupid kid!" A person shouted.

The young boy just let out a laugh. "No one is going to stop if you ask them to!" He just dashed through some narrow alleyways and eventually lost the pursuers. He just got what he stole out and made his way back to the hideout.

"Oh! Look there's little Wes!" A gang member laughed. "Had a good day?"

"Yeah!" Wes smiled. " I got some goods, where's dad?"

"The usual spot, but it seems he's busy and has a guest, so you might want to wait a few minutes before reporting in some stuff." The gang member said.

"Understood." Wes replied.

The hideout was in shambles, but it was all he knew, to him it was home. He just sat down on a couch, outside of Gonzap's office. Eventually falling asleep.

He was woken up sometime later by Gonzap. Gonzap was a rather tall, bald, burly man, with a long jagged mustache, and weird eyebrows that seemed to form horns of hair. He wore a vest with no shirt underneath to show off his muscles and some scars that were across his chest. The other people in the gang said it was to make him intimidating. But to the young Wes, he never really thought of it like that. He just thought Gonzap hated sweating and having to constantly change shirts in the desert's harsh heat.

"Seems like you were waiting for quite a while. Sorry about that squirt." Gonzap laughed. "That meeting took a lot longer than I thought it would!"

Wes just nodded. He went over the various events of the day, recalling his heist. "And then they told me to stop!" Wes laughed. "What kind of idiot thinks I actually would?"

Gonzap just laughed and ruffled the boy's hair. "That's my boy!" He laughed. "Come on, let's go get dinner!"

As far as Wes was concerned, this was his family. They taught him all he needed to know. How to read and write, math, history, and other things such as playing poker, or gambling. They even taught him how to rock climb without a Pokémon or any harnesses. Then one day a grunt approached him.

"Hey Wes!" He said. "We found something, the only problem is that it's too small for all of us to go in, but maybe you'll be able to sneak in."

Wes just looked rather surprised. "Okay, I can try." Wes said. "But should we run this by the boss first?"

"Nah, don't worry about it." The grunt said. "If you find anything, bring it out, okay?"

Wes was brought outside to a cave, they entered and soon found a smaller crevice. The peon just handed Wes a bunch of rope, and Wes entered. Soon he got through the small entrance and got to some rather large hallways. He just made his way through the halls, using the rope as a marker so he didn't lose his way through all the twists and turns. And then, he eventually came to what appeared to be an altar. There was a podium with a black sphere on it. He just grabbed the sphere and put it into a bag and just quickly began to run back to the entrance. When he came out of the cave, Gonzap was there, looking none to pleased. The grunt was being held up by his shirt, and for the first time Wes saw Gonzap rather angry.

When Gonzap saw Wes, he dropped the grunt and just rushed to Wes. "You're safe!" Gonzap said, picking him up and giving him a rather big bear hug. "Your safe, thank Arceus you're safe!"

Wes just looked a bit confused.

"Don't ever do that again!" Gonzap suddenly said scolding Wes. "You don't know how dangerous that could have been! You didn't consult me first!"

"I'm sorry." Wes apologized. "I did get this though..."

Gonzap let him down and Wes handed over the bag.

"It was on an altar in the caves. So it might be valuable..." Wes said.

Gonzap just nodded. "I'll have some people look at it." He said. "Was there anything else in the ruins?"

Wes however shook his head. "No, just that and some murals and what looked like some ancient writing that I didn't understand."

Gonzap just nodded. "All right. Wes, never do that again." He said sternly. "For ruins and other places like that we scout ahead in advanced, and make sure there are no traps."

Wes just nodded.

And the days and weeks went by. Eventually Wes was called to Gonzap's office. He just took a seat, and fidgeted around. "Wes, do you remember a few weeks ago when you went into those ruins?" Gonzap asked.

Wes just nervously shook his head. "Yes sir..."

"You brought back a rock, and I sent it to some of our partners to look at it." Gonzap explained. It was hard to get a read on him. Wes couldn't tell if Gonzap was happy, angry, or frustrated, he was just a blank slate. "And one of them is rather pleased with it. They're called Cipher. I'm still not happy that you put yourself in danger, and didn't follow proper procedure. However, they are extremely happy, and are willing to pay us a pretty penny for this."

Wes just nodded.

"The next time you do something like that without consulting me first, there will be far more serious consequences than just no dessert for a few weeks." Gonzap said. "Do I make myself clear?

"Yes sir." Wes replied.

Gonzap just smiled. "Good, now then, I'll see you later."

Wes nodded. Work went on, and weeks, months, and even a few years passed. And then a meeting was held. All of the people of Team Snagem were there. "Some other group thinks that they can just waltz right into Orre!" Gonzap said rather frustrated, "well, not on my watch! We're going to kick their ass out of Orre and show them who's boss!"

The next few weeks was scouting out, and checking the new gang, and who they were. Wes practically went alone, after all no one would suspect a kid, and it was easy for Wes to just go to a few other kids and just ask to join in a game of soccer or whatever else they were playing. If the other gang noticed, they just saw some local kids looking at them.

Wes would then report back with his findings. They sent a few other scouts to confirm that it was accurate, and planned to attack and raid the base.

Soon the big day came, and Wes was with everyone else in Team Snagem, ready to attack the base.

For the most part the attack went as planned. Wes had stayed behind at a considerable distance to watch and make sure everything was going smoothly, and inform them if anything happened outside via radio. And then something went wrong... They were met with next to no resistance. It was a surprise attack but, it was still too easy.

"How are things looking out there?" Gonzap asked through a communication device.

"I don't see any movement..." Wes replied.

There was a loud clanging from the the communication's device. "Shit! They were expecting us!"

And then their communications were jammed. All that Wes could hear was the sound of static. He just carefully observed the base. He saw a small group sneak out the back and began to slowly approach him. As the group got closer, Wes quickly climbed the cliff side and hid in a cave.

He didn't have any Pokémon on him, as Pokémon were a luxury in Orre. Gonzap had talked about rewarding Wes with a Pokémon, but he had said it was going to have to wait until after they got rid of this rival gang. Not to mention that for his previous scouting missions, it probably would have raised suspicion if a kid had a Pokémon on him. He was defenseless and outnumbered.

"I don't see him."

"He must of saw us coming and hid."

"He couldn't have gone too far, spread out, find him, and then capture him alive. If he resists you can rough him up a bit, but he's a valuable hostage since their leader treats him like his own son."

The group of four just began to spread out. Wes could only watch as they just quickly looked at all the obvious spots.

"The only other place he could have gone was either climbing down, or climbing up..."

Wes suddenly felt his heart skip a beat. He was going to be found.

"I see a cave up there in the cliff side."

"Could he have climbed up there?"

Wes just quickly turned to cave and began to run deeper into it. As far as he could tell it went on for a while. Everything that Gonzap and the rest of Team Snagem had taught him began to come back. "Listen, if you're ever being chased, they won't give up easily, and they might send their Pokémon after you to act as a maker. You need to know if you're being tracked by a Pokémon."

Wes suddenly heard a horrible screeching sound. He brought his hands up to his ears to block the sound.

He soon came to another cliff inside the cave. He could hear water flowing down below. Feeling that his best bet was the underground river he just quickly began to descend the cliff. Hopefully he could follow the river to get to a path that led outside.

"Where the hell did they go?"

Wes just froze and looked up, he could see the four up on the top of the cliff. "Zubat, use supersonic once again!"

That horrible screeching happened once again. As much as it hurt Wes' ears, he just held onto the cliff side and bared with it, if he let go, it probably wouldn't end well for him.

They all suddenly looked down right at Wes.

"He's climbing down the cliff!?"

"Without a harness? Is this kid insane?"

Wes tried to speed up his pace.

"Zubat, go down there and try and stop him!"

The Zubat rushed down and just began to frantically fly around him. The next thing Wes knew was that fear took over, he lost his grip and fell into the raging river down below.

Somehow Wes survived, he had washed up onto a riverbank outside. Slowly he got his bearings. All he could see was just some trees. He was in a forest. He looked at the river a bit shocked. "If I'm still in Orre, then that would mean I'm in the northwestern forest..." he muttered to himself.

It didn't help him all that much. He had no idea where he was beyond that vague general area. He tried to remember some of the geography of Orre's northern forest. If he followed the river at one end, right by the sea, was Gateon Port. At the other end, right by Mt. Battle, was Agate Village. He just didn't know which way was which, or which way would be better.

Eventually he just began to travel downstream. "Either way, I'll get to somewhere with people, and then I'll be able to contact Gonzap..."

Wes just froze, and began to wonder what happened after he lost contact with everyone during the raid. He hoped that they were all fine, after all they were still family to him.

He continued to walk, eventually beginning to get hungry. He found a few berries growing on a tree and just quickly ate some and continued onwards until it got dark.

Wes eventually fell asleep. He woke up in the morning and continued his journey until he suddenly saw a bunch of dead trees. In the middle of the dead trees was a strange house. He wanted to avoid it however dark clouds had suddenly covered the sky and rain began to pour.

Being used to the dry desert, rain was a rare thing to him, and he was rather enthusiastic about it. At least until there was a loud clap of thunder and a bolt of lightning. Terrified he ran towards the house.

He just got closer to the old white house. It looked rather dirty, and there were strange antenna's sticking out of it, but Wes didn't care. He just frantically began to pound on the door.

Eventually an old man in a lab coat opened the door. Wes couldn't help but think that his attire was weird. He had purple pants and a yellow shirt on underneath the lab coat. He had a small beard and long white hair that was pointing up towards the sky. He wore thick glasses that obscured his eyes. "I thought I told you blasted people that I wasn't interested in anything, and I won't be buying." He then looked down and saw the crying Wes. "Oh what, are you one of the brats who always rings my doorbell and then runs away?"

Another thunder clap happened and Wes just let out a terrified scream.

"Fine get in!" The old man said.

Wes just rushed inside. He found an old couch that he sat on. The old man just threw a towel to him. "You're dripping water everywhere." He said. Wes just used it to dry off. "I'm Dr. Kaminko, and you are."

"Wes."

"I see." Dr. Kaminko said. "And what are you doing out here?"

"I'm lost..." Wes replied.

Dr. Kaminko just nodded. "Well, you can stay until the storm clears. But then I want you out! If the storm doesn't clear by night, you can sleep in the guest room." He just pointed to a door. "Now then, in the meantime, I'm returning back to my inventions. And I don't want to be interrupted."

Wes just nodded, and Dr. Kaminko just walked away. After several minutes Wes looked around the house, his instincts from Team Snagem began to kick in. He was looking for anything valuable, or the sign of anything valuable. But there was nothing. Perhaps the most important and valuable thing, at least regarding Wes' current situation, was a map of Orre that was hung on the wall.

Wes just studied the map, making note of a building that was north of the house called Pokémon HQ Lab. As far as he could tell it was quite a distance away, about the same distance as Agate Village and Gateon Port.

He slowly made his way to a door, and opened it, it led to a basement, and he sneaked down. He just saw Dr. Kaminko working on something at a table. "Eureka!" He shouted out. "I finished it!" He just held out the object in his hands, and it looked like it was an ordinary light bulb.

Wes just sighed and made his way back upstairs. He was thinking whatever this doctor invented it may have been worth it to steal it and get back to the base, however it just seemed to be useless junk. He went to the kitchen and just got some food. There was next to nothing in the fridge, and his cupboards were bare beyond a few boxes of granola bars. Wes just grabbed a few and began to eat.

At night time the storm didn't let up. Wes just stayed in the guest room and quickly fell asleep. However he was woken up at 2 in the morning by something.

"Help me! Please help me!"

Wes' eyes just bolted open and tried to look for the source of the sound."

"Help me please!" it cried out. It was soft, and faint. It sounded like a girl. Wes tried to look around the room, and quickly sneaked out of the room and checked a few other nearby rooms to find the source, however he could only hear it in the guest room.

He went to a few vents to see if the noise was traveling through them. But he heard nothing. Only when he got on the bed could he hear the soft cry. "Help me!"

Wes just looked around absolutely terrified.

The soft cries for help were then replaced with a blood curdling scream. Wes' body just reacted on it's own. He just ran away from there, fleeing into the forest during the night. He soon lost sight of where he was. Soon he was just lost in a dark forest. He collapsed against a tree and just gasped for air, eventually falling back asleep.

When he woke up in the morning, he realized he was truly lost now, not even having the river to lead him downstream.

Lost, frustrated, and scared, he did the worst thing someone in his situation could do, he started moving once again.

For days, Wes traveled through the forest with nothing to guide him, not even knowing if he was going the right way. He was growing more exhausted, and was slowly reaching his last legs. His clothing was tattered. His feet were covered in blisters and cuts. He was covered in burs and dirt.

For a kid in his situation it was a bit of a surprise that he lasted as long as he did without panicking and losing hope. On the other hand, Gonzap had always drilled it into his mind to never panic.

"Wes, never panic!" Gonzap would say. "The moment you begin panicking it's all over. Just remain calm, no matter what the situation. And then with a calm mind, you will be able to conquer any situation that comes up."

Wes just tripped and fell, he struggled to get back up. His body was shaking from his current situation. He hadn't eaten for three days. He was barely hydrated. The young boy just somehow stumbled forwards. He was clinging on to some small fragment of hope. That the next step would bring him out of the forest, that someone would see him and help him. That was all that was pushing him forwards at this point.

The trees began to thin out, and as he stumbled forwards he could see a white building with a gigantic pokeball on top.

He fumbled out of the trees and just weakly smiled. "I've made it!" He muttered before collapsing on the stone walkway, and blacking out.

* * *

Wes had finished drinking his cup of tea and just looked around at the Smashers and Zinnia who were intently listening. "Sorry I finished my tea. I need some more." Wes said. "Just take this moment to take a break."

He got up and walked out. The Smashers just either sat there and tried to digest the information. Or they got up and stretched a bit. Zinnia also got up. "Well, I heard what I wanted, he took it from the shrine, and it was sold to the highest bidder. I'm going to start looking at all the ruined labs I can find."

"I think that there may be more to his story that concerns you." Toon Link said.

Zinnia just let out a small sigh and sat down. "You really don't have to listen to his life story."

"Probably not." Red said. "But right now, we don't have any other leads, or anyone else to tell us what happened in this world. Besides, my trainer intuition is telling me that Wes is the best person to tell us."

Wes came back a few minutes later with more tea. He just sat down, took a deep breath, and readied himself once again.

* * *

When he came to he was in a nice warm bed. The room was white and sterile. He just looked around. "Am I dead?" He muttered. His eyes focused on a woman wearing pink. To him, she looked like an angel. In her arms was a baby with short red hair.

"You're finally up." She said.

The young boy just nodded, unsure of what to do. Where was he? Who was this strange woman? Was he safe? Was she going to hurt him?

"I'm so glad you're okay." She said. "We just found you collapsed outside of the Pokémon HQ Lab."

The boy's thoughts were racing, from such a young age he had learned never to trust anyone. That trust would only lead to disaster. He was also extremely cautious because of what had happened at Dr. Kaminko's house. Noticing the young boy's distress she just quickly engaged in some small talk to try and calm him down.

"My name is Lily." She said. "I live here. And what's your name?"

"Wes..." The boy muttered.

She smiled. "What a nice name." She said. "This is my son, Michael."

Wes' eyes just traveled around the room, eventually just noticing an IV in his arm. He winced.

"If you don't move, it won't hurt." Lily said. "It would probably just be best if you just stayed still. The doctor said you were extremely dehydrated and malnourished. We can probably get the IV out tomorrow and start you on food then."

Wes weakly nodded.

Throughout all of this the young baby Michael was just trying to reach out for Wes. Lily finally noticed and just let off a small laugh. "He wants to meet you." She said. "Do you want to hold him?"

"Sure..." Wes said.

Lily just carefully handed over Michael to Wes. The baby just nudged himself into Wes' arm. Wes was a bit surprised. "How old is he?" Wes asked.

"Five months." Lily replied.

Soon they had to leave, and Wes was just alone in that room. Occasionally Lily came back to check on him. They even brought the TV in so that he could watch some movies and cartoons.

Wes recovered, and for the most part he was enjoying it at the Pokémon HQ. He got to watch over Michael. It was looking like he could settle down and live with them.

And then Social Services came.

Wes thought it was a rather long and boring process. "Where did you come from?" They asked.

Gonzap had always made sure to say that since he was just a kid, he could easily just plead ignorance. But if anyone ever asked about his parents, or his home life, he just had to reply. "I grew up on the streets." Wes replied. "I don't have a family."

* * *

"That was apparently the wrong answer, as the next thing I knew was that I was in a car driving away from the Pokémon HQ lab." Wes said. "Although, in the end, it didn't really matter that much, because in less than a week I was back. I figured that Lily and her husband had said something. Soon it was pretty much official, I was adopted into their family."

"Honestly now I can't imagine life without you bro." Michael said.

Wes just nodded. "There's 7 years between us. And for 9 years I thought of them as my family. They really were. We laughed, played, and cried together. I used to think of Team Snagem as my family too, but I quickly found out that there was something different between the two families. Honestly, I was probably the happiest I had ever been. I even got my first two Pokémon there at the lab, a pair of Eevee's that later evolved into Espeon and Umbreon. I was 16 about to turn 17, and I was sent on an errand to get some groceries. That's when everything changed..."

* * *

Wes had just stepped out of a grocery store. He was about to get ready to call a cab to drive him back to the Pokémon HQ lab, when he suddenly felt the presence of a few people behind him.

"Hey guys, look it's Wes!"

Wes just turned around, and was a bit shocked to see four Team Snagem members.

"What do you want?" Wes asked.

"Don't you remember your old pals at Team Snagem? How come you never call? Have you found a nice cushy place to live now?" One asked. They just motioned for him to follow him. Realizing that they could probably overpower him, Wes agreed.

They just escorted him to the old hideout in Eclo Canyon. And eventually just put him into a room. "Wait here, the boss will be with you in a few minutes."

The door closed, and there was an audible click signaling that he was locked in the room and couldn't escape. Wes just let out a heavy sigh, and waited. He thought that he had forgotten a bunch of Team Snagem stuff. But one by one the memories just flooded back in, mainly that disastrous mission.

The door unlocked, and in walked Gonzap.

Wes didn't know what to expect. He certainly didn't expect to see Gonzap crying.

Gonzap just walked over and hugged Wes. "You're alive!" He managed to stammer out.

Wes never knew Gonzap to be an emotional man. If he ever did show emotion it was anger. He always toned it down if Wes was in the room, but if he wasn't he could always hear Gonzap's voice echoing throughout the base.

"So are you." Wes managed to reply, a bit shocked. He didn't exactly know how to take or react to this scene.

"What happened that day?" Gonzap asked.

Wes just looked down at the ground.

"It's alright. Take your time, you don't have to answer me right away?"

"After communications were cut off, I hid in a cave." Wes replied. "The people from the rival gang came up, I imagine our plan was leaked. They began to search the area and noticed the cave. I traveled to the end of it, where there was a cliff and an underground river. I tried climbing down, but their Zubat startled me and I fell in the river, I washed up on shore later... What happened on your end?"

"It was a trap, and we walked right into it. Steve betrayed us, and leaked everything." Gonzap replied. "We were putting up a fight so they sent the four to capture you, and use you as a hostage... They came back and said that you fell to your death... The boys said they never saw me that angry. I whited out due to rage after that, and apparently I had my Pokémon single-handedly destroy their entire base. They were begging for mercy."

"I'm glad that everyone was safe then after that..." Wes said. "So, what do you want? I doubt you got me here just to catch up on old times."

"We're planning a heist. We want something... and we know you're quite familiar with the area." Gonzap said. "The Pokémon HQ Lab."

Wes just went white, and lost all will to fight.

"The way I see it, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way." Gonzap said. "The easy way, well you go in, and since you live there, you can just steal what we want, if you get the right thing then you can go back to your life and we'll never bother you again... Or, we could do it the hard way, we can go there and take whatever we want by force and hurt whoever gets in our way. We'll give you some time to decide."

He just lightly patted Wes on the back and they walked out of the room and locked the door.

Wes just scoffed. "Decide? Like you're actually giving me a choice." He tried to sink further into the chair, hoping that it would just eat him. He didn't even know what Gonzap would be interested in there. All that they were doing was work on a possible battle simulator. As far as he knew, that exactly wouldn't be of any use to Team Snagem.

Time passed.

Wes was just sitting in the room, waiting. He was still scared. Part of him was saying that they would at least come in and ask him what he was going to do before setting out, and that he should have nothing to fear.

There was a knocking at the door. "Wes, it's me." Gonzap said.

"Come in." Wes weakly replied.

Gonzap just came over and sat on the other chair. He looked at Wes who was now just looking down at the floor, and was extremely engaged with the pattern on the carpet.

"Have you thought it over?" Gonzap asked.

Wes just weakly nodded. "I'll do it, so please, please don't hurt anyone there." He muttered.

Gonzap smiled. "That's my boy."

"So, what is it that you want me to steal?" Wes asked. "If you know enough to know that I'm living there, you should know enough that they're only working on a battle simulator."

"We do." Gonzap replied.

Wes just looked up in shock. "You do?"

"Yes, and we want the Pokémon data that's being used in the simulator. For whatever reason, we've got some high paying customers who want that data."

Wes just nodded. At least on the bright side it was something that was something he could just copy. Although he was still a bit confused. Mainly because nearly all of the data was publicly available information. What type of moves Pokémon can learn, at what levels, what moves they can inherit from their parents. Were they the only ones who had compiled it in this format?

"Fine." Wes sighed. "I don't see the point though, but fine, if it will keep everyone else safe... But just one word of caution, Gonzap, if you go back on your word after I deliver the data, and you hurt anyone, there will be hell to pay!"

Gonzap just smiled. "I am a man of my word. Just get that data, and everything will be fine."

"Okay." Wes said.

"Now, I'd like to discuss other things."

"Such as?" Wes wondered.

"Why, tomorrow is your birthday isn't it?" Gonzap wondered.

"The day you said was my birthday..." Wes weakly replied.

"Wes, please look at me son." Gonzap said. "Listen, I may not of always treated you the best, but I did think of you as my son. That day, when everything went bad. I was afraid that you were killed. Deep down, I was telling myself that I raised a strong boy who wouldn't get killed, that he would survive and find his way back to the base. But, the days and weeks passed. And I had given up all hope. I fell into despair and thought you were dead. Could you imagine my surprise when I found out that you were still alive a few months ago."

"I'm sorry." Wes replied.

"Come with me. Let me show you what we've made." Gonzap said.

He just got up and followed behind Gonzap, and he was eventually taken to a room. He soon saw a machine that looked like an orange vending machine. "This was given to us by a group known as Chiper. They wanted us to use this to steal Pokémon. Of course it's kind of clunky. But we've been doing some work and have made some improvements and have made this!"

There was what looked like a broken mannequin. On it's left shoulder was a shoulder pad, and then a metal pipe that went down and was joined with what looked like a hand guard. "A portable snag machine!" Gonzap laughed. "Soon we'll be stealing lots of Pokémon!"

Wes just nodded.

"Now then, you know I like paying people for when they do jobs." Gonzap said. "And, well consider it a bit of a belated birthday gift too."

He was soon in front of a giant red bike, with a passenger car. Wes just stared at it shocked. "What?"

"It's yours." Gonzap said, handing over some keys to him. "Drives like a dream. Happy Birthday. Just get that data, and then you can go do whatever you want. Or go wherever you want. You can even come back here and live with us!"

"Thank you." Wes said. "Was it this Cipher that wanted the data?"

"Yeah." Gonzap laughed. "You catch on quick! You still have your instincts with you Wes. If you ever get tired of your life at the lab, there's still a spot open for you here at Team Snagem."

"I'll get you your data." Wes said. "Give me a week. I don't want them getting suspicious, if this disappearance is anything to go by."

"All right." Gonzap said.

Wes just got on the bike and began to drive it. It took a few minutes for him to get used to it. Notably the wind getting into his eyes. But he endured and he was soon back at the Pokémon lab. He pulled out the bag of food that the Snagem grunts were nice enough to put in the passenger seat.

"Wes, what happened?!" Lily said confused. "You were gone an unusually long time."

"Oh, I just met up with some old friends." Wes replied. "It was a bit unexpected, and they wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Oh I see." Lily smiled, but deep down Wes knew she was questioning it since Wes had never brought up his previous life before he appeared on the steps of the lab and if he did it was as an extremely vague statement. "Well, go find Michael. He hasn't stopped asking when you'll be back."

"Okay, thanks." Wes said.

Wes just let off a sigh. "Of course he would be wondering where I am. I can't go to the washroom without him bothering me..."

Wes continued through the hallways, with every employee he passed, he cringed and felt a bit unsure. He was worried, after what he would do, would he be allowed to stay here? Would they chase him out afterwards?

He made it back to their living area.

"Big brother!" Michael just immediately jumped up and slung his arms around Wes' neck and hung from his back. "You're back!"

"Yeah, I am." Wes laughed, at his 9 year old brother.

"Guess what?" Michael said.

"What?" Wes wondered.

"Well, I wanted to buy you a birthday gift. So Mom helped me pick out something for you!" Michael said. He passed over a wrapped box. "Open it!"

"My birthday is tomorrow, squirt." Wes reminded him.

"I know, but I want to see you open it now!" He said.

"Fine." Wes replied admitting defeat. He knew not to bother trying to out stubborn his younger brother. He just began to open the carefully wrapped gift wrap, and was greeted with a box holding a new pair of sunglasses. He just immediately took them out of the box and put them on. He looked at himself in the mirror. Wes did have to admit he looked pretty damn cool. "Thanks squirt."

Wes just embraced his younger brother.

That night they had a small birthday party for Wes. As far as Wes could tell it seemed peaceful. But one day, as he was walking around the labs with Michael and Jovi, he over heard some scientists talking.

"There saying that Pokémon are suddenly getting violent and attacking humans." A scientist said.

"No way."

"Yeah, it's all over the news..."

Curious, Wes looked it up, and sure enough there were reports of Pokémon attacking humans. He just got up and began to walk until he found his mother and Professor Krane.

"Mom, Professor Krane, can we talk?" Wes said.

The two just looked at the trainer. "Of course, about what?" Lily asked.

Wes just motioned towards a table and he began to explain everything that had happened over the previous week and some of his previous life. How as a child he was in a gang known as Snagem and they were the only family he had. How he was taken away from his parents when he was a young age because they had a debt to Gonzap. How when he went into town, he had unfortunately met up with some Snagem members and was given an ultimatum. Either he stole the data at the lab, or they'd come and take it by force.

"I see... so that's what happened..." Lily said.

Wes just nodded.

"Well we can't allow any harm to come to us." Professor Krane said. "We can increase the security..."

Wes just nodded. He was walking down the hallways when he suddenly was stopped by an assistant, Professor Ein.

"Wes, I couldn't help but over hear your story. How about this... We give them some of the data, but it also has a virus on it, that will destroy their computers."

"That would be a great idea!" Wes said.

Professor Ein just smiled. "I'll get on it right away."

Within a day, Professor Ein was done. He called Wes into his office, and for the first time Wes looked around. Across the walls of Ein's office was pictures of fossils. Wes just looked at them a bit shocked.

"Professor Ein, what are these?" Wes asked.

Ein just laughed. "Oh, I had a passing interest in archeology. Still do, when I came to Orre, I heard they had ruins here. Of course, I haven't had very many days off to go and see them. But have you heard of the Dome and Helix Wes?"

"No."

"They are two ancient Fossil Pokémon. The Helix representing the chaos of the world. And the Dome representing order. But there are many others. Lord Amber, the god of Neutrality and balance." The room seemed to become colder as Ein continued to talk. "Lord Root, the god Speech, earth, and plants. Lord Claw, the god of silence. Lord Skull, the god of offense. Lord Armor, the god of skill, strategy, and defense. Lord Cover, the god of Life, Patience, and progress. Lord Plume, the god of Death, Plague, Science. Lord Jaw, the god of isolation and battling. Lord Sail. And then Lord Drive, the god of imbalance."

"I see..." Wes said getting creeped out.

"Long ago the Dome and Helix fought." Ein said. "It must of been a marvelous battle. But that's a story for another day. Here is the disk with the virus on it."

Ein just handed over the disk to Wes, and he was quickly on his way to the Snagem Hideout. He occasionally glanced down at the disk.

"I won't forgive you or Cipher for threatening my family." He replied.

He had hatched a plan in his mind. He would give it to Snagem, he'd then leave, steal the snag machine, and then go and stop Cipher himself.

It was crazy, but... He couldn't stand for them threatening his friends and family. He would use everything in his power to make sure they were crushed.

He soon met up with Rui and found out about Shadow Pokémon. With the Snag machine he was able to get the Shadow Pokémon and purify them.

Their journey soon brought them to the Shadow Pokémon Lab and Wes was met with a familiar face. "You surprised me Wes." A voice said. Stepping out of the shadows was Professor Ein.

"Professor Ein?!" Wes said shocked. "What are you doing here?!"

"You idiot." Ein replied. "I'm a member of Cipher. I always have been."

"What?!" Wes said shocked. "But then... the lab, the virus..."

"It's true I could have gotten the data any time I pleased, but it seemed that the idiot Professor Krane was suspecting someone was stealing data." Ein replied. "So, I decided to enlist Team Snagem for help. They are quite a bit helpful. They go around stealing Pokémon that are then turned into Shadow Pokémon."

"But the virus..." Wes just stammered out.

"That Virus? It was something I had to whip up at that lab." Ein replied. "It was the real reason why you had to transfer it and be a carrier pigeon."

"What?!" Wes said.

"I didn't get to tell you the rest of the story. About the fossils..." Ein replied. "There are many forces beyond our comprehension! And I want to control them! And the Shadow Pokémon are the first step!"

Wes just felt something crawl up his back.

"Olden or Inol!" Ein laughed. "A force capable of destroying everything!"

"And where do the Shadow Pokémon fall into this?" Wes asked.

"Olden doesn't have a physical form." Ein replied. "The Shadows are just merely fragments of it's corruption and influence."

"Ein I've heard enough!" Wes said. "You're crazy. And you've lied to my friends and family. I will defeat you!"

Ein just laughed. "Well then, let's battle."

The two fought, and Wes snagged his Shadow Raikou and defeated him. Ein just began to laugh.

"So you've won." He said. "That's fine, Olden's resurrection will still happen. It is inevitable! Even purifying them doesn't cause it to disappear!" He just turned to walk away and disappeared.

They continued on with their journey. Eventually eventually they destroyed all of Cipher, and purified all of the Shadow Pokémon. Or so they thought.

After that Wes returned to the labs. Michael was in tears that his brother finally came back, and had left without saying anything. For the time being Rui moved in with her grandparents in Agate Village, and they started dating.

A year later, Wes was investigating some ruins in the desert. Trying to find some hint on Olden, and Ein's mad ranting. Ein had left behind a diary in his desk after he left the labs.

And then Cipher appeared once again. This time Michael took them down. But they had a new weapon. XD001, Shadow Lugia. A Pokémon that Cipher thought couldn't be purified.

But over the past year, Professor Krane had been working on a purification chamber, and it was purified.

At this time, Wes was exploring a deeper part of the desert ruins that he hadn't been in before. For convenience he had moved and got a house built out in the middle of nowhere. It was a few minutes away from the ruins, and just made everything simpler.

As he stepped into the new chamber he saw various murals.

* * *

"Wait, is this the chamber that we were just in?" Zinnia questioned.

"No, I didn't know about that one, but it's a different chamber." Wes said.

Zinnia just nodded. "I may have to go investigate that chamber then. But maybe later."

"Yeah."

* * *

The murals were that of the old gods that Ein had talked about. "Why did they take the form of Pokémon?" Wes wondered. "Or did Pokémon take after them?"

After a hard day of trying to decipher them, he just made his way out of the ruins and back to his house. However Rui was standing outside.

"Rui?" Wes said a bit surprised. "What's wrong?"

"The shadows..." She said. "I can sense them again! They're gathering. I can't help but shake the feeling that it's at the Pokémon HQ Lab."

"What why?"

"I don't know." Rui replied.

Wes just jumped onto his bike and Rui followed. He drove as fast as he could across the desert. As soon as the Pokémon HQ Lab was insight he could tell something was wrong.

They parked, and saw a bunch of people outside of the lab.

"Wes!" Jovi shouted rushing over to Wes and Rui. "What are you doing here?"

Wes just looked around. "That's not important right now? Where's Michael?"

"He's still inside..." Jovi replied.

"Rui, watch over Jovi!" Wes said.

"Wes, you can't go in there..." Rui said.

However Wes had all ready began running for the front doors. Some security guards looked rather shocked, they tried to move to stop him from entering, but Wes effortlessly slipped past them.

He rushed into the lab. He could see why everyone was outside. There was smoke, and the sprinklers and alarms were going off. But perhaps what was even scarier was that even he could see the shadows now. He didn't know how, but he could tell the difference between the smoke and the shadow aura. The shadowy aura all seemed to be creeping in one direction.

He soon came to a sealed door that the shadows passed through, and wasted no time in kicking it open.

The room was dark. The lights had been destroyed. Only the faint glow of the computer screens illuminated anything. Wes just focused on a scientist with teal hair who was standing around a tube with some white cat like creature in it.

"I assume you're the new professor that has been hired here that my brother had been talking about. Dr. Yung." Wes said.

The man just chuckled.

"Wes... what are you doing here?" A voice weakly said.

Wes' head jolted to the side, to see Michael against the wall. His Pokémon were knocked out, and he was in pretty bad shape. Wes just rushed over to his brother, and helped him up, along with recalling his Pokémon.

"Get out of here Wes, he's dangerous." Michael began to plead.

"Not without you." Wes replied.

He just helped his brother up and glared at Dr. Yung. "I suggest you start talking."

Dr. Yung just laughed. "If I did, I doubt some street urchin such as yourself wouldn't be able to comprehend it. How could two idiot brothers like you defeat Cipher."

Wes' eyes just flared up. "Are you apart of Cipher?"

"Was." Dr. Yung replied. "Until it was destroyed. You're quite familiar with Professor Ein, correct?"

"What about him?" Wes asked.

Dr. Yung just laughed. "Nothing, we were just old friends. His shadow Pokémon, no our shadow Pokémon were apart of something. Have you heard of the battle of gods. Between the Helix and Dome?"

"Ein had talked about it."

"We wanted to recreate that battle." Dr. Yung replied. "And bring back the force known as Olden. For that we made the Shadow Pokémon. We corrupted them. Even as you two purified them, trace amounts of their shadow aura remained, and began to gather together... I came here to this lab to get all the data that was left on the Shadow Pokémon, and create more of the dark aura. And now, today you are going to be greeted with the resurrection of Olden!"

"You're about as insane as Ein was." Wes said.

Dr. Yung just laughed. "You say that, but perhaps, we're the only sane people left in the world."

Wes just glared at him.

Dr. Yung just walked over to a black case that he opened. Inside of it was an orange crystal that seemed to glow.

He just took out a large orange crystal. "This is the crystallized remains of the Shadow Pokémon!" He laughed. "All the shadow aura has been gathered into this. And now it's time!"

He just stabbed it through the test tube and into the white cat like creature's shoulder. It just began to let out a cry. He flipped a switch and a dark shadowy aura began to surge through the tube.

The white skin began to transform into a purple color. "You two were graced with never seeing how a Shadow Pokémon was made."

"All we know is that you shut out their hearts somehow, and the trauma that they suffered must of been intense!" Wes said.

Dr. Yung just laughed. "Indeed. Now there was something else too. All this couldn't have been possible without you, Wes."

"Without me?" Wes said a bit confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well, you see. You remember that black rock you brought back one day to Team Snagem, and someone bought off of them for a high price?" Dr. Yung asked. "Well, the Shadow Pokémon were birthed from that rock. That rock, which is a fragment of Olden, and has graced our world! And now, it will grace our world once again!"

However Dr. Yung was suddenly impaled by the crystal. Blood just seeped down to the floor. He looked at the crystal rather shocked. But slowly a smile began to cross his face. "Thank you Olden, for your faithful servant wouldn't ask for anything better... Letting me become the first blood in your crusade! Destroy this pathetic world! Destroy everything!"

The Shadow Pokémon just stepped out of the remains of the test tube and looked around. It's aura began to spread across the room, causing electronics to explode, and starting another fire. It then raised it's hand up and shot an energy beam out, creating a hole in the ceiling before flying away.

Wes just hung Michael on his back and began to make his way through the ruins of the lab. "We need to get out of here." Wes kept on muttering to himself.

He made it outside where Rui and Jovi were waiting. "Wes!" Rui rushed over to him, and he just collapsed.

The next thing he knew he was in his bed in his house. Right beside him was Jovi. "Wes is up! Jovi is so happy!" She said.

"Jovi?" Wes muttered.

But Jovi had all ready ran out of the room. Wes just slowly began to get up. A few seconds later Rui rushed in. "Wes, you're up!" She said.

Wes just weakly nodded.

"I was so worried about you."

"Where's Michael?" Wes asked.

Rui just looked over at him. "He's in the guest room."

Wes just slowly began to get up, and he made his way to the guest room with Rui supporting him.

There on the bed, he saw his little brother sleeping peacefully. "He's still out cold." Rui said.

"Have you called a doctor or anything?" Wes asked.

Rui just looked down rather grimly. "Wes... there's something you should probably know..."

It was there he learned that it had been a few days since he was knocked unconscious. Whatever was at the lab had broke free, and been destroying the world. Orre was first, but then it set it's sights on other regions. Currently it was in Johto and Kanto. People and Pokémon were left petrified in it's wake.

"Sorry." Rui said. "I knew a bit of first aid, and with the help of Espeon, we were able to get the smoke that you two inhaled out... but..."

Wes just hugged Rui. "Thank you." He said.

The next day Michael had woken up.

It wasn't long until they found out that society had collapsed. If there were any survivors, they gravitated together and formed gangs in the lawless wasteland to control resources. The weak were at their mercy.

Only the strong seemed to stay alone.

* * *

"And that's how this world became hell on earth." Wes replied.

"So, it was neither of those stories." Red sighed.

Wes just nodded. "Yeah, unfortunately it's some strange Pokémon. We may have met it yesterday too..."

"This is just making me wonder, where is Mewtwo..." Toon Link muttered.

"Yeah same..." Red said. "Hopefully he is safe."

"I am." A voice replied. Everyone just looked around in a bit of shock.

"Mewtwo?!" Red said. "Where are you?"

"I'm outside." Mewtwo replied. "Hearing that story, and traveling around looking for answers, I've realized that the Pokémon responsible for this is my doppelganger. Somehow another Mewtwo was created."

"Another Mewtwo?" Wes asked.

Mewtwo just teleported into the room. Wes and Michael were in shock about his sudden appearance.

"I am Mewtwo."

"I see..." Wes replied, trying to take in the Pokémon's looks.

"I was created by humans. And it would appear, so was that other one." Mewtwo said.

"And what's your plan, Mewtwo?" Red asked.

"I will find and fight this imposter." Mewtwo replied.

"What?!" Wes said a bit shocked. "Every other person and Pokémon that has faced him has been turned to stone."

"That won't happen to me." Mewtwo replied. "After all, you two fought it, and you weren't turned to stone."

Wes and Michael looked on in shock. "That's true." Wes said. "But, it may be because we purified the shadows before. It might of realized who we were and couldn't turn us to stone."

Mewtwo just nodded. "Well, one way or another, I'm going to find out."

"There might be another reason..." Michael added in. "When we fought it, we exhausted it."

"It then used a powerful attack, but it was quite clearly a last resort." Wes said. "We blacked out, but Michael's Pokémon were still in their pokeballs and came out, and fended him off."

"Can I see your Pokémon?" Mewtwo asked.

Michael just nodded, and let Jolteon, Walrein, Shiftry, Dusknoir, and Gardevoir out of their pokeballs. They all looked at Mewtwo and were immediately defensive. "Relax guys, it's a different Pokémon."

"I will now read your minds and see what he did." Mewtwo said.

* * *

Jolteon, Walrein, Shiftry, Dusknoir, and Gardevoir forced their way out of the pokeballs. They were all rather unhappy about the current condtion of their trainer and his older brother.

Shadow Mewtwo just let off a grunt of frustration. The dark aura around him began to thin. "To believe that I was brought to this point by these trainers. Although they aren't normal trainers, neither are you normal Pokémon. You are all fragments of me... You had all been purified. Except for you, you were never a Shadow Pokémon!" He pointed at Jolteon. "Now, let's begin."

The Pokémon began to battle, but it seemed like Shadow Mewtwo was tired of playing around. He just teleported to dodge attacks, and quickly struck down the other Pokémon until they had all fainted.

* * *

Mewtwo let off a disappointed sigh. "I was hoping for more information than that. But either he was playing around the whole time against you two, or he was at his limit for some reason and could no longer screw around. I won't know until I fight him, but it might be the latter."

Wes just glanced outside. "Well, it's getting late, so you probably won't be able to fight him tonight. You're all welcome to stay here. In the meantime, I think it's dinner time."

Everyone just stared at Noah. "All right." He said. "I'll start with summoning up some food any requests?"

* * *

Dinner was filling, and now the Smashers were just relaxing. Toon Link had pretty much fallen asleep right away, while Noah and Red decided to take a small walk around outside to help clear their minds. Greninja, and Zoroark followed.

"I wish I could fall asleep as quick as Toon Link." Red laughed.

"Same. I'm always just lying in bed, looking up at the ceiling, and waiting." Noah replied. "And when I get to sleep, I'm a really light sleeper..."

They saw Wes and Zinnia going back to the ruins. A bit confused they decided to follow.

"We can wait until morning." Wes said.

"I don't think there's time." Zinnia replied. "Mewtwo has already made it clear that he want's to fight Shadow Mewtwo as soon as possible, and I think Shadow Mewtwo will be active again tomorrow."

"Why do you say that?" Wes wondered.

"Its most likely been healing after your battle with it." Zinnia replied. She just stopped and glanced back at the Smashers. "You know, no one likes being followed."

"Sorry." Red said. "It's just, we were kind of curious as to why you were going back to the ruins."

"Well in that case, follow me." Zinnia said. "Or rather walk in front, we may need a few pincushions for all of the traps."

Noah just froze.

"Beyond the structure possibly failing, there's no traps there anymore." Wes said.

They just walked in and Wes led them to another chamber. The painting on the wall this time depicted golden Pokémon fighting against a shadowy figure. Zinnia just began to read the Draconid language. "And what all does it say?" Wes wondered.

"To fight against the influence of Olden, our Pokémon had to break through their limits." Zinnia said. "Even those that couldn't previously Mega Evolve, or could Mega Evolve, but couldn't due to a lack of Keystone and Mega Stone, could call upon 'Break'."

"Break?" Wes said a bit surprised.

"They're covered in a golden aura, and it seems they get much stronger." Zinnia explained. "Well, that's all I know from this."

"Does it say how to activate this form?" Zoroark asked.

"Not really." Zinnia sighed. "But seeing as how it may be derived from Mega Evolution, which required a bond between the Pokémon and Trainer, this may require something similar."

"Break... maybe I can wield this power..." Zoroark whispered to himself, so that only the Smashers could hear. "Until Master comes back and I can Mega Evolve..."

Wes just approached the wall. "If this does have the same power as Mega Evolution without it's drawbacks, that probably would be great."

"Drawbacks?" Noah questioned.

"Physical strain on the trainer." Zinnia replied. "There's a reason why trainers can only mega evolve once per battle. They have to recover afterwards. Not to mention you can become synchronized with your Pokémon, feel pain that they feel. It's a double edged sword, and there's a reason why some trainers only do it as a last resort. Anyways, that's all that's here, do you know of any other ruins?"

"Yeah a few." Wes said leading the way.

The Smashers just followed, hoping to find out some more information.

* * *

Inside a cave, Shadow Mewtwo was recovering. He had surrounded himself in a barrier just in case anyone or anything came looking for him.

The barrier disappeared, and he just began walking out of the cave and looking at the sunrise. "Another me has appeared? One that didn't turn out like this? It seems like we're going to meet..."

Suddenly, Shadow Mewtwo just collapsed and began to grab its head and began to scream out in pain. "Leave me alone! Who are you?! You fought this other me? He's strong? If I can take him out you'll leave me alone?"

After several minutes the pain subsided. Shadow Mewtwo just gasped for air. He reached for the gem that was glowing and jutting out of his chest.

"Then I will defeat this other me." Shadow Mewtwo said. "I will destroy him."

* * *

**File 1**

**Do you want to save?**

**YES**

**Party: Noah, Lucario, Zoroark, Greninja, Red, Charizard, Ivysaur, Squirtle, Toon Link, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pichu, Mewtwo, Wes, Michael, Rui, Jovi, Zinnia  
**

**7 Chosen Champions Remain**

* * *

**Notes:**

**It's shorter because, well, truth be told, I don't know what else to do. I could have done Mewtwo and Shadow Mewtwo's battle, but pacing wise I felt that was too much.**

**For those who aren't familiar with Twitch Plays Pokémon, the lore of the series became that the fossil Pokémon were gods. Originally it was the Helix Fossil, but it grew to include all of the other fossils in their little pantheon. I've pretty much fallen out of Twitch Plays now after Anniversary Crystal. Olden was a glitch that appeared during the Anniversary Crystal run, and was made into being this eldritch force.**

**Pokémon Break: In the Pokémon TCG, there are now golden Pokémon cards known as "BREAK" It's also all caps. Much like BOTTLESHIP add this to the list of words that I won't do all caps in the middle of the story, because I think it looks stupid. Because Zoroark BREAK also looks a bit distracting.**

**Pokémon Colosseum and XD originally took place with 5 years between them. I went with just 1 year between them, for this story.  
**


	15. VS Shadow Mewtwo

**Me: I really like the Ultra Beasts, and want to bring them into the story, but Sun and Moon releases late in November, and I don't want to keep delaying this story. Well, maybe I'll save them for something else. Also there's that little detail of, after those sun and moon leaks/demo data mining, I don't know the other Ultra Beasts names just what they look like.  
**

* * *

Chapter 15: VS Shadow Mewtwo

Mewtwo just stood in the middle of the desert. He looked around at the wasteland that surrounded him, rather satisfied that their battle wouldn't hurt anyone caught in the crossfire.

If anyone approached the battlefield, they would be able to see them coming a mile away and the Smashers, Wes, Rui, and Zinnia would be able to intercept and keep them away. They were also quite a distance away at Mewtwo's request. But a few among them were uneasy about this current situation. "Are we sure we should allow Mewtwo to do this?" Noah questioned.

"I agree." Wes added in. "During our fight with Shadow Mewtwo, it felt like he was toying with us. We don't know his full power, but, I think we should all be there fighting him. Overwhelming him with our combined strength."

Toon Link who was sitting back and leaning against a rock just dismissed Wes and Noah's worries. "Nah, Mewtwo will be fine, and without us being there, he doesn't need to hold back. Trust me, Mewtwo will be fine. He'll be able to beat his doppelganger, and then we can go home and worry about other stuff."

"Yeah, the fact that Mewtwo wanted to do this alone shows how serious he is about this!" Red chimed in. "Honestly, I'd be afraid for the other Mewtwo."

"Is Mewtwo that powerful?" Rui wondered. "Because, one should never underestimate a Shadow Pokemon."

"Agreed." Michael said. "They have no weakness, and at the same time are strong against everything. It may be a tough fight."

Toon Link just laughed. "You'll see, Mewtwo will quickly take care of it, and you'll be begging us to stay a bit longer."

Wes just glanced towards the young Smasher. "I really hope you're right."

Noah just looked towards what would soon be the battlefield a bit worried. "But this seems a bit too easy. We just have to defeat one monster. When compared to the last mission this seems weird..."

"Yeah, in comparison this does seem too easy." Red said. "Well, I say we should be happy with the hand we're dealt with. You don't know how much longer these days will last right?"

"Well, there's still the chance Mewtwo could lose to his double." Zoroark said.

"And how likely is that?" Wes wondered.

"Not very." Toon Link replied. "He's one of the strongest Smashers after all."

"And who would you say is the strongest Smasher?" Noah wondered.

Toon Link just paused and thought about it for a few seconds. "That's such a loaded question, you know..." He glanced over to see Pikachu's cheeks sparking, and Jigglypuff not looking too pleased. Toon Link could feel something crawling up his back and knew he had to tread carefully from this point on. "They could be watching and will be mad with who I think is the strongest..."

"It's your fault. You were the one who brought it up." Red said.

"Yeah..." Toon Link just let off a heavy sigh. "Well just pure brute strength there's Donkey Kong, Bowser and Ganondorf. They're pretty much unrivaled there. But brute strength isn't the only deciding factor of a fight. You need smarts and wits too, and that Mewtwo has plenty of. So, I think Mewtwo will be fine"

"I hope so." Red said.

"Come on Red, you should be more optimistic! After all, you're the Pokemon expert here." Toon Link laughed. "You should know more than anyone else how this will play out."

Red shook his head. "Sorry, but I don't know anything about these Shadow Pokemon, or their capabilities. The only thing I know for certain is that the winning Pokemon will be a Mewtwo, whether it's ours or the other one is a different matter entirely."

Toon Link just let off a heavy sigh. "Great..."

"These Shadow Pokemon have been bothering me for a while too..." Red said.

"What about them?" Wes asked.

"Everything." Red replied. "They're just a complete unknown. And to be honest, from your account, and your brother's account of fighting them, and how much they changed and evolved between the times when Cipher attacked, I think we should be worried."

Toon Link glanced over towards Red. "Well, when you put it that way, I can see why you're concerned."

"And there's one other thing." Red said.

"And that is?" Wes asked.

"I had trouble sleeping last night." Red replied.

Wes just stared blankly at Red, dumbfounded by what he had just said. "I'm sorry, our house isn't all that comfortable." He said.

"No, that's not what I meant." Red quickly replied. "It's just, the night before my hardest and biggest battles, I can't sleep. It doesn't matter, even if I don't think I have a battle, or don't know that I'll meet someone and fight them, I'll just have a hard time sleeping before a big battle. You can call me superstitious or whatever, but..."

"No, I understand where you're coming from." Wes replied. "There's been plenty of times where I've been nervous about something and couldn't sleep."

"Well, all we can do now is hope for the best, and hope that it isn't some kind of bad omen." Zinnia said. Everyone nodded in agreement, they then just glanced over to look at Mewtwo who was floating in the air, deep in meditation. For the Smashers, they had seen this ritual many times before. He would do it whenever he was about to go out on a serious mission. The air around him was charged with energy.

Noah couldn't help but stare. There was something captivating about it, something that was constantly drawing his eye back to Mewtwo. As he stared, there was a question that was constantly lingering in his mind.

"So, how are we going to get Shadow Mewtwo here?" Noah wondered. "I mean, he might not come, right?"

Everyone just glanced at the boy.

"No, he'll come." Red said. "I'm positive."

"Me too." Zoroark said. "Besides, Mewtwo will make sure Shadow Mewtwo will come here."

"How can you be so sure?" Noah wondered.

"Because strong people always seek each other out." Red replied. "Shadow Mewtwo will be here, in fact I'd bet money that he's been watching us right now."

"Really?" Noah wondered.

"I guess that might be it..." Zoroark said. "My hair has just been standing on end, and I couldn't figure out why. I think he has been watching us this whole time."

"Probably trying to gauge how we stand up to him." Red said.

"Well, he has reasons to be worried." Toon Link laughed.

Mewtwo continued floating there, he had mentally prepared himself for nearly any situation. "I'm ready." he thought to himself. "I know you're out there. Come, face me! I know you've been watching me from a distance! I'm ready, now come to face me!"

Without warning a giant beam of energy just rushed right for Mewtwo. Mewtwo just raised his hand creating a barrier that caused the beam of energy to split apart.

"Good, you managed to deflect that, perhaps this won't be so boring after all."

Shadow Mewtwo just teleported several meters away from Mewtwo and just floated there.

"And why did you do that?" Mewtwo asked.

"To make sure you were worth fighting. I mean, if you couldn't even block that, and were killed or instantly defeated, I saw no point in showing myself to you and wasting further energy." The Shadow Mewtwo said.

Mewtwo just stared at his doppelganger. "I would like to know who you are."

A smirk appeared across Shadow Mewtwo's face. "I'm you, your shadow."

"You might of noticed, but no one is laughing." Mewtwo replied.

Shadow Mewtwo just burst out in laughter. "How clueless you are. You see, we're both cut from the same cloth. Created by humans. I just went down the path of destroying them and finding greater power!"

Mewtwo just floated there, not reacting and just inspecting Shadow Mewtwo.

"What do you hope to accomplish? You who allied yourself with humans! Why are you even here? Why do you concern yourself with this world when it isn't yours?" Shadow Mewtwo asked. "Do you think it's some higher calling? You have to defend the weak, those who can't defend themselves? They don't deserve it! They should all just die!"

Mewtwo didn't flinch. "You talk far too much. I was curious about you and what had led you to this point. And it seems that in another life, I could have chosen a similar path as you, had I not met Master Hand."

Shadow Mewtwo just laughed. "Oh are you trying to act all high and mighty on me?"

Mewtwo however just ignored Shadow Mewtwo. "It seems like nothing I say will convince you to stop what you're doing, so I'm going to have to stop you."

"If you can." Shadow Mewtwo laughed. "I think you will soon learn how powerless you are against me."

Mewtwo let off a small chuckle. "Really? Well then, I guess we better get started."

"Fine by me." Shadow Mewtwo replied.

The two just stared at each other, both just getting ready to fight.

Both of them were just trying to size each other up. They were both going to fight off against the unknown, unsure about the other's capabilities.

Shadow Mewtwo just reached up for the crystal that was poking out of his chest. "Let us begin!"

The two just dashed forwards with an outstanding speed. Both of them had created a barrier around themselves. As the two barriers collided, both were sent flying away from each other.

Mewtwo just quickly threw several shadow balls towards Shadow Mewtwo, who countered with his own. Upon impact they just exploded.

They weren't meant to hit, right now both were just sizing up the other's abilities, reaction speed, power, charge up time, and many other things. Each hoping to find out more about their opponent and any possible advantage that they could find.

Shadow Mewtwo just went towards the ground, he landed and suddenly the ground began to transform into a crystal battlefield. Mewtwo just quickly used disable, causing the crystal battlefield to stop spreading, and what had formed to shatter and revert back into the desert.

Shadow Mewtwo just looked at Mewtwo rather amused. "That's not going to help you." He laughed.

Mewtwo just floated up in the air calmly. "I don't know what that crystal battlefield is, but my best guess would be that it's used to give you an advantage."

A smirk appeared across Shadow Mewtwo's face. "This might be fun after all... don't bore me."

Shadow Mewtwo just suddenly shot towards Mewtwo. The quickest thing that Mewtwo could do to get out of the was teleport away. But as soon as he reappeared Shadow Mewtwo rushed towards him again. As he got closer, Mewtwo teleported once again, and then reappeared a moment later. Once again Shadow Mewtwo changed his course and rocketed right for Mewtwo. However this time Mewtwo created a barrier around himself that Shadow Mewtwo just bumped right into. The two buffeted against each other, however a few seconds later Shadow Mewtwo was hit by something, and immediately lost the power struggle being overpowered by Mewtwo, and sent flying and crashing into the ground.

"What happened there?!" Shadow Mewtwo muttered. "Wait, that's how he did it. Clever..."

After Mewtwo had teleported away the first time, he quickly thought several steps ahead and planned his attack. As soon as he appeared in his new location he had quickly charged up a shadow ball. He had anticipated that Shadow Mewtwo would immediately change course and charge at him, so he fired the shadow ball and quickly teleported to somewhere in the shadow ball's path. All he had to do was wait for Shadow Mewtwo to charge at him again, and then hold his ground until the shadow ball hit.

Shadow Mewtwo just laughed. "I've seen through your trick, you won't be able to do it again."

"Have you?" Mewtwo wondered.

"Try it again, and we'll see. You can't use cheap tricks to beat me." Shadow Mewtwo said.

"You call it a cheap trick, I call it strategy." Mewtwo replied.

"Is that so?" Shadow Mewtwo laughed. "Because that's a rather poor strategy. For your sake, I hope that's not the only trick you've got. Because you will quickly lose to my overwhelming power."

"Overwhelming power? Ha!" Mewtwo laughed. "You should have noticed by now, we're equal. And if we continued to fight like that, we were never going to be able to see who was the stronger one."

Shadow Mewtwo just floated there. "You think we're equal." he laughed. "If we are truly identical, it is only our unique abilities and assets that will separate us." He just stretched out his hands and what appeared to be energy swords formed. "Unfortunately, this is where you will fall and find out how much I outclass you."

"And why's that?" Mewtwo wondered.

"I used to be a regular Mewtwo, bound by the same constraints that you are. And because of that, I know all of your limits. The only way for you to beat me is to become another me." Shadow Mewtwo replied.

"Are you sure about that?" Mewtwo wondered. "Because from what I've heard about you from Wes, you were born and kept in captivity by Dr. Yung, and instantly became Shadow Mewtwo upon breaking out. You should have never had a chance to test your powers as Mewtwo, and therefore never have known your normal limits."

"They didn't just disappear when I became Shadow Mewtwo. I have complete mastery over both. And as such, by the end of this fight, you will accept becoming a Shadow Pokemon." Shadow Mewtwo replied. "Now, let us begin round two!"

He just rushed towards Mewtwo with the energy swords.

Mewtwo just quickly jumped back to avoid the swings from Shadow Mewtwo's energy. Shadow Mewtwo tried to increase the length of the swords however Mewtwo saw through that and backed up further. Shadow Mewtwo rushed for Mewtwo once again and readied his swords. However he quickly put them away and spun around swinging his tail, catching Mewtwo off guard, and sending Mewtwo down to the ground.

Mewtwo had recovered and just looked up at Shadow Mewtwo. "It's my turn." Mewtwo said. A blue aura appeared around him, and suddenly a sandstorm came in, blinding both of them.

"Fool, you can't see me in this sandstorm..."

Shadow Mewtwo was however suddenly blasted by numerous shadow balls that came in several different directions. He looked around confused trying to find the source of the attack, but found nothing and was blasted by several more. Shadow Mewtwo just created a barrier around him, and tried to focus and find Mewtwo within the sandstorm. However he couldn't sense Mewtwo.

Growing frustrated at the constant sandstorm Shadow Mewtwo just raised his arm. "Shadow Clear!" He said. A pulse of shadow energy spread out, and stopped the sandstorm. Shadow Mewtwo just looked down at the now revealed Mewtwo. "I congratulate you. You are the first Pokemon that has driven me this far. To use a Shadow Move."

"And a new one too." Mewtwo said. "Shadow Clear wasn't one that Wes and Michael had warned me about."

The shadowy aura emanating from Shadow Mewtwo suddenly exploded, and seemed to get much darker and thicker. "I'll tell you this, you are the strongest opponent I have ever faced." Shadow Mewtwo laughed. "But, I have only been using 10% of my power."

"Is that so?" Mewtwo wondered.

"Yes, I am about at 10%." Shadow Mewtwo laughed. "Now, why don't I bring it up to 20%. Be proud that you brought me to this point!"

The dark shadow aura suddenly went into Shadow Mewtwo. The next thing that Mewtwo knew was that Shadow Mewtwo was rushing towards him. He didn't even have time to react. He only saw the after images, the next moment he was hit into the air by Shadow Mewtwo's tail.

Shadow Mewtwo followed up by launching a constant barrage of Shadow Balls towards Mewtwo. Mewtwo quickly put up a barrier however that barrage was strong enough to cause his barrier to crack and eventually shatter.

Mewtwo tried to fire a shadow ball, however as soon as he threw it another shadow ball from Shadow Mewtwo just pierced right through it and hit him, exploding.

Any time Mewtwo tried to counter attack he was immediately attacked by a shadow ball from Shadow Mewtwo. Eventually he fell to the ground. Mewtwo just lied there for several seconds, feeling the sting from every spot where Shadow Mewtwo had landed an attack.

He just struggled to get up off of the ground. He looked at Shadow Mewtwo who was approaching him slowly. Mewtwo was a bit confused, questioning if he was giving him a chance to run, but Mewtwo quickly realized that it was just Shadow Mewtwo's way of playing with him. Give him some false hope, like he would be able to escape out of this situation alive and then as he was running away, catch up in an instant, and end the battle.

"20%, huh?" Mewtwo laughed. "It looks like I better get serious."

"You're bluffing." Shadow Mewtwo laughed.

"Is that what you think?" Mewtwo wondered. "Well, to be honest you are right. I have been going seriously at this so far and to the best of my ability." He just raised up his arm to reveal a bracelet on it. He just took off the bracelet, and it fell down to the ground. "Let me tell you about psychic powers."

"There's no need." Shadow Mewtwo replied. "After all, I'm psychic as well."

"But you're psychic powers are no where near mine." Mewtwo replied. "That I'm sure of. Otherwise, you would have never allowed me to remove the bracelet that acts as a suppressor."

"Suppressor, what for?!" Shadow Mewtwo asked.

"There have been cases of psychics who can't control their powers, and unconsciously bend all the objects around them." Mewtwo said. "They constantly have to keep their full attention on preforming a task, such as constantly spinning two balls around in an eternal circle, otherwise their power will go out of control. I'm not like that. I can have complete control. It's just that I can't do this for too long, otherwise my body will break down. So I wear the suppressor to keep myself alive, and stop me from going all out."

Shadow Mewtwo just glared at Mewtwo. "Well then, let's see how much stronger you really are!"

He fired a shadow ball right at Mewtwo, however it stopped right in front of Mewtwo, before being sent flying right back at Shadow Mewtwo. The attack hit, exploded, and caused the Shadow Pokemon to skid across the ground.

Shadow Mewtwo was both terrified and excited. Never before had he fought against such a strong opponent. "I want to destroy you! I want to make you face despair!" Shadow Mewtwo laughed. "You deserve to face off against me at 50% of my true power! I want to see your face after you've used your true power and still realize it's hopeless!"

Shadow Mewtwo just flew towards Mewtwo, however he was suddenly frozen in place. Mewtwo just glared at him. "I'm sorry, but it seems like that will never happen." Mewtwo said.

"How so?" Shadow Mewtwo laughed.

Mewtwo threw a quick shadow ball, hitting the crystal that was jutting out of Shadow Mewtwo's chest. Shadow Mewtwo just began to scream in pain as the shadow ball went into the crystal and it began to discharge all of the energy into Shadow Mewtwo.

"Because it looks like to me you have a glaring weak point right on your chest."

However a dark aura began to erupt from Shadow Mewtwo. Mewtwo just looked a bit surprised, and confused as he could feel Shadow Mewtwo's strength increasing. "Sorry, but that isn't the case." Shadow Mewtwo laughed. Dark energy just began to pulse out from Shadow Mewtwo.

The dark energy hit Mewtwo, and he sent flying back.

"You're weak." Shadow Mewtwo said. "Far too weak to be a challenge to me. You thought the crystal was my weak point?! Hahahaha!"

Mewtwo just had a smirk across his face. "Even if it was only for a split second, I know you felt pain. You're doing your best to mask it, but, that's not going to work."

Shadow Mewtwo just glared at Mewtwo. "It seems that I have to utterly defeat you. Fine, I will use 50% of my power now!" A dark aura began to emerge from Shadow Mewtwo. He raised his and hand. "Shadow Wave!"

A dark wave pulsed out of Shadow Mewtwo, and rushed towards Mewtwo. Quickly, Mewtwo put up a barrier.

"Shadow Shed!" Shadow Mewtwo said. A wave of dark energy hit the barrier and tore through it, allowing the shadow wave to hit Mewtwo.

"Wes and Michael had told me about these Shadow Moves." Mewtwo said. "You must have access to all of them."

"Indeed." Shadow Mewtwo said. "I haven't been wanting to use them, but you, you've forced me to this point."

Mewtwo just glanced at the crystal jutting out of Shadow Mewtwo's chest. It seemed to have glowed when he had used his shadow attacks. It suddenly glowed once again. "Shadow Down!" Shadow Mewtwo said.

Mewtwo was hit by a wave of aura, he suddenly felt his defenses weaken.

"Shadow Hold!" Shadow Mewtwo said. The dark aura spread out, creating a barrier, and trapping the two of them inside. "Shadow Mist, Shadow Sky!"

A dark shadowy mist covered the battle field, and the sky suddenly was covered with darkness. Mewtwo had endured all the shadow attacks that had been launched at him, and just stayed focused on the crystal. It seemed to have lost it's shine. What was once orange now seemed to have dark purple veins going through it.

Mewtwo just rushed towards Shadow Mewtwo and began to rapidly fire Shadow Balls. He followed up with using psychokinesis to move a giant boulder and send it right towards Shadow Mewtwo.

"Shadow Blast!" A blade of air just cut right through the boulder causing it to shatter. Shadow Mewtwo released another Shadow Blast that cut through the shadow balls.

Shadow Mewtwo was ready to attack once again, however he suddenly found his body unable to move. Mewtwo just floated in front of him restricting his movement.

"Psystrike!" Mewtwo said, unleashing a wave of psychic energy. As soon as it hit Shadow Mewtwo he began to stagger backwards.

Mewtwo just looked at the crystal. The purple veins had spread, it had become much darker. There were very small traces of orange left, it had either faded away to grey, or become purple, or what looked like pitch black. Shadow Mewtwo was just gasping for air.

"Give up." Mewtwo said. "It looks like you're almost out of power."

Shadow Mewtwo just let off a weak laugh, however it soon became much stronger and louder. "Is that what you think this is?" Shadow Mewtwo laughed. "You've been focusing on my crystal the whole time... You think I wouldn't have noticed?"

Mewtwo just looked at the Shadow Mewtwo. "So, what does it actually mean if that isn't how much power you have left?"

Shadow Mewtwo just laughed. "It's how long until I can unleash 100% of my power! You should be glad! You brought me to this point when no one else could! You forced me into this corner!"

Dark energy burst forth from Shadow Mewtwo. When he was done charging up, behind Shadow Mewtwo appeared to be another shadow. It appeared to be wielding multiple swords.

The swords just rushed for Mewtwo who teleported out of the way, when he reappeared he saw that the swords had cut right through a boulder. Mewtwo just rushed towards Shadow Mewtwo and punched at him, however the shadow behind him suddenly shielded him from the attack.

Shadow Mewtwo smirked, and followed up with attack with the shadows. The shadow's around him took physical form and began to spiral upwards sending Mewtwo in the sky.

Mewtwo just teleported out of it and gasped for air, a bit surprised. "The Swarm?" Mewtwo muttered. "I see..."

Mewtwo just rushed for Shadow Mewtwo. He waved his hand and multiple explosions occurred around Shadow Mewtwo who just quickly jumped back to avoid them. However Mewtwo had teleported above Shadow Mewtwo and just brought down a shadow ball to Shadow Mewtwo, and then smashing him into the ground.

Shadow Mewtwo just began to get up and looked at Mewtwo. "I have determined that you are weaker than me, and you can't win." Shadow Mewtwo said.

"Are you sure?" Mewtwo laughed.

"Yes, it is pointless to continue!" Shadow Mewtwo replied.

"I'll end this!" Mewtwo replied. "Evolution beyond evolution! Mega Evolve!" A bright light appeared around Mewtwo, Shadow Mewtwo however quickly realized something was up and quickly fired a beam of energy. It hit and pierced right through the light and Mewtwo, causing Mewtwo to fall to the ground.

Mewtwo just struggled to get up, however he felt all his energy just leave him. "What's going on?" Mewtwo muttered.

"I told you it's pointless." Shadow Mewtwo sighed. "You can't fight against me..."

"_What's going on?!_" Mewtwo thought. "_How did he suddenly drain all my power?_"

Watching from a distance, the Smashers were suddenly a bit shocked by current situation. Michael had been constantly scanning them, with the Aura Reader. "This is bad." He said.

"What's going on?" Wes asked.

"The Aura Reader, it was scanning Mewtwo, and when that wave of dark energy hit him, he lost all of his energy."

"Red, we have to help Mewtwo!" Lucario said.

Red just nodded. "Charizard, are you ready for Mega Evolution!"

Charizard just let out a roar.

"All right!" Toon Link laughed. "I think I'm ready for this Lucario!"

Lucario nodded, and let out a roar.

"Sorry Mewtwo, we know you didn't want anyone to interfere, but... it looks like we don't have a choice." Toon Link said.

Red activated his Mega Bracelet, and Charizard Mega-Evolved into Mega Charizard X, the black dragon just immediately flew down towards Shadow Mewtwo. Toon Link wasn't that far behind with activating Mega Evolution, soon Lucario had become Mega Lucario. He just dashed right towards Shadow Mewtwo. Red and Toon Link followed.

Greninja just turned to Noah. "Nin." It said, waiting for orders.

"Um, well, uh..." Noah just stuttered out. "If you want to, go help them."

"Nin." Greninja said rushing towards Shadow Mewtwo.

"And what about you?" Rui asked Zoroark.

"What do you mean?" Zoroark asked.

"I think we can cut all pretenses right now." Rui said. "I know you're actually a Pokemon, I've been able to see through your illusions from the beginning."

Zoroark just turned to face Shadow Mewtwo. "Well then, if my cover is blown, fine. Anyone coming with me?"

Pikachu nodded. While Jigglypuff just motioned that her and Pichu would stay here to protect everyone.

Zoroark dispelled his illusion, and Pikachu just jumped and grabbed onto his hair. "Hold on tight!" Zoroark said as he began to dash off towards Shadow Mewtwo.

Mewtwo was just struggling to get up. Mega Lucario, Mega Charizard X, and Greninja just appeared in front of him, ready to defend him from Shadow Mewtwo.

"Get back, this is my fight." Mewtwo said.

"Sorry Mewtwo, but you've had your chance. He somehow drained all of your energy." Mega Lucario said. "We will take him on now."

Mewtwo just grunted. "Fine... But once I recover, I want to get back to a one on one battle with him!"

"If he's around when we're done with him." Mega Charizard X laughed.

The three Pokemon just glared at Shadow Mewtwo.

"One or 100 pokemon, it doesn't matter how many you send towards me, I will defeat you all the same." Shadow Mewtwo laughed.

"I'd like to see you try!" Toon Link shouted. He drew the Master Sword and swung it right at Shadow Mewtwo. Shadow Mewtwo blocked the attack with the two energy beams, however much to his shock, the Master Sword began to repel the energy. It broke through, and cut through a part of the aura.

Shadow Mewtwo just jumped back, shocked that a bit of his aura was purified. "What's this?!"

"This is the Master Sword, the Blade of Evil's Bane!" Toon Link replied. "It's capable of cutting through and repelling any evil!"

Shadow Mewtwo just laughed. "Interesting..."

The dark aura around Shadow Mewtwo began to expand. A moment later Shadow Mewtwo had transformed. The giant crystal had changed. More part's of his body had transformed, or at the very least glowed with the orange crystal's light. His arms and legs had gotten bulkier. His ears seemed to have transformed into crystal horns. Across his body there were orange lines.

"He can mega evolve?!" Mewtwo said, rather shocked.

"Is that what you call it?" Shadow Mewtwo said.

"Well, that won't matter that much." Mega Charizard X laughed. "We're also Mega Evolved!"

"Don't be arrogant!" Red said getting close to them, and releasing Squirtle and Ivysaur. "If you think that you can win, just because of Mega Evolution then you're only using it as a crutch! We know how much we power up because of Mega Evolution, we don't know how much Shadow Mewtwo has. He might of been saving this power for a reason."

Shadow Mewtwo just laughed. "Well, at least it seems like the trainer is smart, unlike the Pokemon."

Mega Charizard X just sent a fireblast towards Shadow Mewtwo. However Shadow Mewtwo just blocked the attack with a barrier. Mega Charizard X just rushed forwards jumping into the air, and covering himself in flames. He then began to spin right towards Shadow Mewtwo, he unleashed Flare Blitz right onto the the barrier causing it to shatter.

Greninja had a water shuriken charged up and just threw it at Shadow Mewtwo, it hit stunning him. Mega Lucario rushed in quickly and began to rapidly punch at Shadow Mewtwo, who had to quickly take a defensive stance. Zoroark rushed towards Shadow Mewtwo and used night shade. Squirtle used surf, drenching Shadow Mewtwo, and allowing Pikachu to follow up with a thunderbolt, causing Shadow Mewtwo to stagger.

"Ivysaur, now!" Red shouted.

Ivysaur just unleashed a solar beam, that hit Shadow Mewtwo and sent him skidding across the ground.

"Amusing." Shadow Mewtwo replied. He began to get up off of the ground and just floated in the air slowly approaching the Smashers. "But is that all you have?" The dark aura exploded off of him once again, and his power just began to rapidly increase.

"Fire solar beam once again!" Red commanded.

Ivysaur unleashed the attack, however Shadow Mewtwo just raised his hand and blocked the attack by releasing a small bit of shadowy aura to act as a barrier. "It's pointless." Shadow Mewtwo said. "By seeing your attacks once, I've all ready figured out how to counter them."

"Counter this!" Mega Lucario shouted, firing a giant aura sphere right at Shadow Mewtwo. However he just swatted it away.

Shadow Mewtwo just let off a small chuckle. "Is that how you use this power of Mega Evolution? How weak. You're not using it to it's full power."

"I'll show you my full power!" Lucario shouted. The air had suddenly gotten much colder. A strange wind seemed to just draw everything towards Lucario. He just cupped his paws, and another aura sphere appeared. "Aura Storm!"

A constant beam of aura just rushed out right for Shadow Mewtwo. The shadow Pokemon quickly crossed his arms in an attempt to block it. However, it was pointless, the beam of energy just passed right through Shadow Mewtwo's defenses and through his body.

The attack ended, and Shadow Mewtwo collapsed, gasping for air. The dark aura around his body had been disrupted.

"Now, triple finish!" Red shouted.

Squirtle unleashed hydro pump, Ivysaur fired Solar Beam, while Mega Charizard X fired a constant barrage of Fire Blasts. The attacks hit Shadow Mewtwo, causing a rather large explosion.

But as the smoke cleared, Shadow Mewtwo was standing there unscratched. "So that is your strength, path-" He however was suddenly interrupted by Mega Lucario delivering a roundhouse kick. The attack sent Shadow Mewtwo skidding across the ground.

Mega Lucario just landed and was glaring at Shadow Mewtwo, his stance had become much more feral, he was growling and showing teeth.

"Oh no! Lucario can't control his aura." Red shouted rather surprised.

"What?" Toon Link said.

"I've heard of it that there are some pokemon, where upon Mega Evolving, can't control their newfound power, and lose themselves in it!" Red replied. "It probably didn't help that you two had barely bonded, and were just thrown together for this mission."

"What?! No way!" Toon Link said surprised.

"But how?" Pikachu asked.

"I don't know." Red said. "For right now, let's just hope he only has eyes for Shadow Mewtwo."

Mega Lucario ran forwards towards Shadow Mewtwo. He began to rapidly attack Shadow Mewtwo by creating a bone out of aura and using it as a staff..

Shadow Mewtwo was unable to actually defend. If he tried to put up a barrier, the aura would just pass through it. Mega Lucario let out a feral roar, and began to gather aura from the air around him.

"This is bad." Zoroark muttered.

"How, he's beating Shadow Mewtwo!?" Toon Link said.

"But if he does beat him, who will he target next?" Zoroark asked.

Mega Lucario unleashed another Aura Storm, this time at point blank at Shadow Mewtwo. Shadow Mewtwo was sent flying back, smoke was coming off of his body. The dark aura had completely disappeared.

Mega Lucario just rushed forwards and punched Shadow Mewtwo right in the face sending him flying back, right by the rocks that Noah, Michael, Wes, Jovi, Rui, Jigglypuff and Pichu were hiding behind.

Shadow Mewtwo just looked up at Rui and Michael, and let off a small laugh.

"Where is the Shadow Aura?!" Rui asked.

"I wonder." Shadow Mewtwo replied.

Mega Lucario was rushing once again for Shadow Mewtwo. However he suddenly froze. His feral howls were suddenly replaced with cries of pain. Shadow Mewtwo just floated right towards Mega Lucario.

"You're strong, but blind strength is pointless." Shadow Mewtwo laughed. "You were defeated by your own hubris!"

A dark shadowy aura began to emanate from Lucario. "What the?!" Rui shouted afraid.

"Shadow Mewtwo turned him into a Shadow Pokemon!" Michael added on.

Lucario lost his Mega Evolved form and just fell down onto the ground, knocked out.

"How?" Wes asked.

"I did nothing." Shadow Mewtwo replied. "It was that fool who was drawing in all the aura from the surrounding area. He just drew in my aura as well."

Greninja had fired a giant water shuriken right at Shadow Mewtwo who just teleported out of the way to dodge it. The Smashers just quickly ran up in front of Noah, Wes, Rui, Michael and Jovi to protect them from Shadow Mewtwo.

"I think you all realize how pointless it is to fight against me." Shadow Mewtwo said. "You are all weak! Accept defeat."

"Never!" Red shouted. "Squirtle, Hydro Pump!"

Squirtle shot a stream of water right at Shadow Mewtwo, however he just hit it with a simple energy beam, causing it to explode, and leave mist in the air. "Fire your thunder shock at me, Pikachu, if you don't mind hurting everyone else..." Shadow Mewtwo taunted. "I know your bag of tricks now, it's pointless to keep fighting."

Zoroark just jumped up right behind Shadow Mewtwo, he used night slash to attack the Pokemon, however Shadow Mewtwo just hit him with his tail sending him flying back.

"If only I could break..." Zoroark muttered. He glanced over at Pikachu. "Pikachu, can you climb on top of me, and just constantly use thunder."

Pikachu just stared blankly at Zoroark, before replying with a flat "What?"

"I want you to constantly use thunder on me!" Zoroark replied.

"I repeat, what?"

"It's Break." Zoroark replied. "I think, we can trigger Break like this. All we know is that its this gold shimmering armor."

"And what makes you think that me using thunder on you will trigger it?" Pikachu bluntly asked.

"I've seen it happen before." Zoroark explained. "In a Pokemon battle, a Pikachu was constantly doing thunder, and was able to trigger a gold shimmering armor on it and it's ally."

"Oh no." Pikachu muttered in dread.

"If that and Break are the same thing, then, maybe we can win this." Zoroark said.

"Listen, whatever you're planning, it isn't going to work." Pikachu pleaded. "Look at this logically, why would I ever use thunder at an opponent if it had a chance of triggering a super powerful gold super that they could use against me?! It just won't work."

"We won't know until we try."

"Well fine, but don't cry to me when this is over." Pikachu sighed. He jumped into Zoroark's hair, and began to use thunder.

"What is this madness?" Shadow Mewtwo laughed. "Have you realized how pointless the situation is, and just are trying to hasten your demise?"

Zoroark just let out a cry of pain. He looked up at Shadow Mewtwo and just laughed. "No. Behold, thunder armor!"

Shadow Mewtwo just let off a heavy sigh. "That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

Zoroark just rushed towards Shadow Mewtwo, his claws began to glow, and he slashed Shadow Mewtwo once again with night slash. Shadow Mewtwo just grabbed Zoroark by the throat and tossed him up into the sky. He followed it up by firing a constant barrage of shadow balls. When it was over, both Pikachu and Zoroark had fallen to the ground unconscious.

Shadow Mewtwo just let off a heavy sigh. "Is anyone else going to try something that stupid?" He asked. "Because, I tire of this battle. You are all disappointing"

"Is that so?" Red shouted. "Well then let's finish this! Charizard, Ivysaur, Squirtle! Let's go!" He just glanced back at Toon Link. "Toon, look, he's purposely avoiding you. You might be able to use your light arrows..."

Toon Link just pulled out his bow and arrow. He chanted a spell and the arrow began to glow with a bright light. "I've only got one shot." He said. "So keep him occupied while I fire the arrow, and make it count."

"All right." Red said.

"I can do that as well." Mewtwo said.

Everyone just looked at Mewtwo in shocked. "But you're exhausted."

"That's why he won't expect me." Mewtwo replied. "I'll hold him in place, you fire the arrow. But we've only got one shot."

"Okay," Toon Link said. "I'll do my best to make that shot count! You guys keep him occupied."

In the sky, Shadow Mewtwo and Charizard were battling it out. Occasionally Squirtle and Ivysaur would fire attacks from the land.

Shadow Mewtwo was constantly blocking all of the attacks with a psychic barrier, but it was quickly becoming clear that the barrier he was putting up was failing. He reached up to wipe sweat away from his brow.

"Ivysaur, solar beam once again!" Red ordered. Due to the desert sun, Ivysaur quickly charged up and fired the attack once again. Upon hitting the barrier, it broke through.

"Charizard bring Shadow Mewtwo back down to the ground!" Red shouted.

Charizard just grabbed Shadow Mewtwo and quickly plummeted towards the earth. Just as Charizard was about to hit the ground, he let go of Shadow Mewtwo and glided away to safety. Shadow Mewtwo wasn't so lucky and quickly crashed into the ground. He let out a cry of pain and just looked up at the Smashers.

Mewtwo just teleported behind Shadow Mewtwo and grabbed ahold of him. "Now Toon Link!"

Toon Link just aimed the arrow and fired. It rushed towards Shadow Mewtwo, and hit the crystal in his chest.

There was an explosion of light. Mewtwo fell to the ground, and in the air Shadow Mewtwo was floating there screaming in agony.

Light seemed to act as electricity and was surging around Shadow Mewtwo. Spots on his skin were beginning to become white and clear. Shadow Mewtwo just let out pained cries and glared at the Smashers. Weakly he floated up into the sky, the light energy was still discharging off of him.

Seeing that the battle was reaching the end, and thinking it was safe, Wes, Michael, Rui, Jovi, Zinnia, and Noah made their way closer.

Another onslaught of attacks hit Shadow Mewtwo, he fell back to the ground and just began to laugh. "You're weak..." He laughed.

"That's not something you should be saying as we're beating you." Mewtwo said as he charged up a final shadow ball.

"You're weak, I was expecting so much more." Shadow Mewtwo laughed. "Where's your pride? You who claims to be the strongest Pokemon! You should of never accepted their help! You should have fought until the bitter end as just yourself! The Smashers have tamed you..."

Mewtwo just froze, and Shadow Mewtwo took this opportunity to strike.

"Soon, you will be just like me!" Shadow Mewtwo laughed. He stretched out his hand and a black spore appeared he just threw it towards Mewtwo, however Michael jumped in the way and pushed Mewtwo aside. It hit Michael instead, knocking him unconscious.

Everyone stood paralyzed in shock. Shadow Mewtwo just took this opportunity to teleport out of there.

Wes was the first to react, and rush to his brother's side. He just quickly checked his pulse, and let out a sigh of relief when he had confirmed that he was still alive. Wes picked up his brother and began to carry him away.

"Let's get back to the house." Was all he said, it was quite clear that he was doing his best to hide his emotions, but everyone could feel his frustration and fear dripping off of every word.

* * *

They had made it back to Wes' house. The majority of the trip was just spent in silence.

Michael was now resting on his bed, with Wes looking over him.

Wes just reached down and lightly ruffled his brother's hair. "Damn it." He muttered. "You're going to be fine, you're strong, you can pull through this..." He said.

But Michael didn't respond. After several minutes, Wes just made his way downstairs where the Smashers were waiting. They looked up to see the trainer approaching, each one looked like they wanted to say something, but they didn't. If they opened their mouths, they just quickly shut them again. Wes just sat down in a chair and looked at the Smashers.

"I'm no doctor, but as far as I can tell, Michael is fine." Wes said. "He was just knocked unconscious."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now, do you understand what you're up against?" Wes asked.

"Yes." Mewtwo replied.

"You did your best." Wes said. "That thing, is completely beyond anything."

"It shouldn't be." Mewtwo replied. "I shouldn't have been beaten by him. This was disastrous."

"Don't let what he said tear you apart." Wes said. "It was clearly trying to get under your skin, and get you off guard."

"And what he said was enough to get your little brother hurt." Mewtwo replied.

"Yet, at the same time... I think Shadow Mewtwo was at the end of his ropes." Rui said. "The shadow aura was beginning to thin out, and some of his skin was beginning to turn white."

"The moment he saw we were all shocked and concerned with Michael, he took that opportunity to run." Mewtwo said. "He must of realized he was going to be beaten."

"So now he's recovering, and if we can find him, we can strike!" Toon Link laughed.

"Right! Then let's get going!" Wes said. Everyone was getting up, and ready to go out once again.

"But aren't we forgetting something else?" Red quickly said. They all froze and looked over at Red. "We need to recover too. If we fight him now, I think the results will be pretty much the same. We need to recover and approach this with a plan based upon what we now know. Besides, we don't even know where Shadow Mewtwo is, and if we go out looking for him now, we'll just exhaust our energy while he recovers. We have no other choice but to recover and wait."

The room was deathly silent. "You're right..." Wes admitted, although it clearly pained him.

"Patience, we're not on a time limit." Mewtwo said. "Michael is just currently unconscious, there's nothing to worry about."

"Yeah." Wes said. "Still, what Shadow Mewtwo said, it's been bothering me. He attacked you with the intention of turning you into a Shadow Mewtwo... And then there's that matter with Lucario, where he absorbed the shadow aura as well, how is he?"

"He's fine." Zoroark said. "Still unconscious though..."

"Then I don't really want to say he's fine until he's woken up." Wes said. "What if he's become a Shadow Pokemon?"

"Then you just purify him like you purified Shadow Pokemon in the past." Toon Link replied. "I don't see what's so difficult about that."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room that was only broken when Wes decided to speak. "Because, we can't purify them any more." Wes replied. "Shadow Mewtwo destroyed the lab with the purifier, that managed to purify XD001. And then one of it's first acts was destroying the other method, the Relic Stone."

"There might be another way..." Rui said. She walked over to the fireplace, and reached up to the mantel that was above it. She grabbed a flute that was on display. "The Time Flute." She said. "We had saved one just in case shadow pokemon came back, and we absolutly needed to use it."

"What does the Time Flute do?" Mewtwo asked.

"It summons Celebi." Wes replied. "However it only works in conjunction with the Relic Stone. All we have is a small fragment of it." He pointed to a shard of rock that was also on display on the mantel. The Smashers just looked at it, and they saw a small faint green glow.

"It might work." Mewtwo said. "At least it's worth a try."

"I think so too." Zinnia said. "And as we just found out any small advantage we have is needed against Shadow Mewtwo."

"Fine." Wes said. "Stay here, there's something else..." He got up and walked out of the room, a few minutes later he came back carrying a black box. He placed it down on the table and opened it up. Inside there was a strange bottle.

"What's this?"

"A container for a Pokemon." Wes said. "Team Snagem had found it during an expedition while searching through ruins. Gonzap wasn't willing to part with it. And for a good reason too..."

* * *

"It's time to see our haul for the day!" Gozap laughed. It was mostly just old artifacts which they quickly agreed to hand over to their benefactor, however they soon came across the bottle. A pink and white bottle with gold rings around it. It was majestically crafted.

Wes was captivated, and slowly began to reach for it, however Gonzap noticed and just pulled it away.

"Something tells me this is special." Gonzap said. "And I'm going to look up what it is, until then we're going to hide it from our benefactor unless they pay us more..."

He just put it in a black box and locked it, and then hid it in his office. That should have been the last anyone had seen of the bottle.

Wes was sleeping, and was having a dream. "Help me!" A voice said. The bottle appeared. "I'm trapped, let me out!"

Wes woke up with a cold sweat, unsure if what he saw was real, he quickly went to sleep again. After a week of nothing but the same dreams, he finally broke down and snuck into Gonzap's office late at night.

He quickly found the box's hiding spot, and picked the lock, however before he was able to open it, Gonzap burst through the door. He rushed over and just grabbed Wes, pulling him away from the box.

The young child was scared. Gonzap just began to laugh. "I made it, good." He said.

Wes looked a bit confused and just looked up at Gonzap. Gonzap placed Wes on a chair, and just ruffled his head.

"You're not mad?" Wes asked.

"Ha! Of course not! It looks like that training is doing wonders." He laughed. "You picked the locks to my office, and the box! You just were caught because you triggered another security system. There's great things ahead for you in Team Snagem Wes!"

Gonzap just put the box on the table and turned it so that it faced Wes. "Now, why did you try and steal what's inside?" Gonzap asked.

"I just wanted to see the bottle again!" Wes replied.

Gonzap however frowned. "Is that so? Since we've gotten this bottle, many of the men have been complaining of nightmares. And I know you're no different Wes."

"How?!" Wes said a bit shocked.

"I checked up on you a few times during the week once the first report of the nightmares began to happen." Gonzap replied. "You were tossing and turning in bed."

Wes just nodded. "I heard a voice, it was telling me to help it, and showing me the bottle in my dreams."

"I see. I've done some digging, and I've found out why our benefactors wanted us to go through those ruins. Turns out this was what they were after. And for that reason, I can't give it to them." Gonzap just opened the box, revealing that it was empty. "I've hidden it away."

"Why can't you give it to them dad?" Wes asked.

"It's too valuable. And dangerous." Gonzap replied. "Sealed away inside that bottle is a Pokemon. It's known as Hoopa."

"Hoopa?" Wes repeated. "I've never heard of it."

"That's because it's a legendary pokemon. Very few people have seen them, or even know about them." Gonzap said. "Besides, it's power benefits thieves more... How would you like your own Pokemon, son?"

"What?"

"If you can tame Hoopa, it's yours." Gonzap said. "However, you can't let anyone know about it. If our benefactors find out we actually found it, then, well there's no telling what they'd do."

Wes just nodded.

"I will let Hoopa out, however, it is known to have a rather mischievous streak." Gonzap said. "If it puts you in danger in any way, I will seal it back. Understood?"

"Right!" Wes said.

"Good, we'll work on that tomorrow." Gonzap laughed. "Right now, you just need to go to sleep. And if you see Hoopa again in your dreams, tell him that you'll see it tomorrow."

"Got it!"

Wes went to bed and sure enough Hoopa contacted him again. "You're Hoopa right?" Wes asked.

"Yep." A voice replied.

Wes was a bit shocked. "You can talk?"

"Well, it's what humans call telepathy." Hoopa replied.

"Oh, I see. Anyways, my dad says that we're going to open your bottle tomorrow!" Wes said. "So can you stop going into everyone's dreams?"

"Okay."

"But can you stay here?" Wes wondered. "I want to know more about you!"

The next thing Wes knew was that it was morning. He woke up and got out of the bed, and rushed into Gonzap's office. After breakfast, they were out in a stretch of barren wasteland. Gonzap just took out the bottle and placed it on a rock. He then opened it.

Much to everyone's shock a red and purple little pokemon came out. It had two gold rings hanging on on it's horns.

"This is Hoopa boss?" One snagem grunt asked.

"So it would seem." Gonzap replied. "It's nothing like the pictures I've seen."

"Hoopa!" Wes shouted out and waved. Hoopa just floated over to him, and rested on Wes' head. Gonzap just smiled and approached them.

"Hoopa, this is Wes, my son, you will watch over him, and if anything happens to him, there will be grave consequences!"

Hoopa seemed to cower from Gonzap's presence. Wes was always told that Gonzap had an intimidating presence, and those that fought him would notice it immediately. Wes never felt it, and he didn't know what the other grunts were talking about. But going by Hoopa's reaction, it was indeed real.

"I'm Wes." Wes said as he lifted Hoopa off of his head. "I'm glad we finally got to meet out here, and not just in the dreams."

The two played out in the desert, and once the heat began to get to them they made their way inside. Wes showed Hoopa around the base, and slowly the two of them became friends.

* * *

"What happened with Hoopa?" Rui couldn't help but ask. "You never used it. Or even brought Hoopa up before."

"I didn't have him until much later..." Wes replied. "And even then, it didn't feel right using him."

"Didn't feel right?" Toon Link said. "What do you mean?"

"I feel like I betrayed him, I don't think he would like to see me." Wes replied. "Something happened, and Gonzap didn't allow me to have Hoopa with me during that raid, and... well you know how the rest of how that story goes. There was also the fact of Shadow Mewtwo, and how he was hunting down legendary Pokemon to test his strength and turn them into stone, so I kept him sealed away for his own safety."

"But then, when did you get Hoopa back?" Rui asked.

"Back after we beat him on Realgam Tower."

* * *

They were in the waiting room, waiting for the Colosseum battles to start. Wes was planning on just closing his eyes and waiting until an attendant came and got them, but Rui had other plans. "What do you mean that last guy was your father?" Rui said.

Wes just nodded. After battling with Gonzap he decided to tell Rui a bit of his past. "It's the truth, he raised me." Wes replied.

"And why was he here?" Rui wondered.

"I don't know, if I had to guess, I think it would be because Cipher hired Team Snagem." Wes replied.

There was a knocking at the door, and it opened. Wes just looked up, and saw Gonzap standing there. He was carrying that black box.

"Wes, can we talk father to son for a few minutes."

"Yeah, that's fine with me." Wes just looked at Rui who was rather concerned. "Don't worry, he won't try anything."

"Okay. I'll leave you two alone then." Rui said.

Rui walked out of the room, and Wes just looked up at his father.

"Bet you were quite surprised to see me." Gonzap laughed.

"A bit." Wes laughed. "You weren't holding anything back, were you?"

"Against you, not at all." Gonzap said. "So, you've made it all the way here... Ever since you blew up the base we've been watching you..."

Wes just nervously laughed. "Um, you're not still mad about that, are you?"

"I'll say it's water underneath the bridge at this point." Gonzap said. "Anyways, you're now about to face the leader of Cipher."

"Yeah." Wes sighed.

"I'm proud of you." Gonzap said. "I'm proud that you made it this far."

Wes just looked up at Gonzap. "Really? You mean that?"

"Yeah. Also, I think I should return this before you face the leader of Cipher." He just opened the box revealing Hoopa's bottle. "You can use it if you want."

Wes took the box, and closed it. "I'll consider it."

"There was one other thing." Gonzap said. "About Hoopa, Cipher wanted it for their shadow pokemon project... I feigned ignorance, and acted like I didn't know what they were talking about. But there's no doubt in my mind that they would have made Hoopa a Shadow Pokemon."

Wes nodded in agreement. "They didn't hesitate in transforming other legendary Pokemon. I doubt Hoopa would have been any different."

"Listen, that day when everything went sour, you don't know how many times I had wished I'd given you Hoopa to use and protect you."

Wes just froze and for the first time he looked up at Gonzap and looked him in the eyes. "What?"

"I really was afraid that we lost you, and that I wished I could have gone back in time, and let you have Hoopa for that mission..." Gonzap replied. "After everything is said and done, you may not accept it since we did kind of blackmail you into getting the data and everything, but I'm sorry."

Wes just let off a small smile. "Thanks."

Gonzap was about to walk away and exit the room, however Wes stopped him. "Wait." Gonzap froze and turned to face Wes. "Listen, why did you agree to work with Cipher?"

"After you disappeared, I fell into a dark place." Gonzap replied. "You always brought out the best in us Wes. Listen, after all of this is said and done, why don't you come back to us?"

"I don't know." Wes replied. "Sorry, but I've got a family elsewhere, and a little brother to protect."

Gonzap just nodded. "I was thinking, that Team Snagem would be going clean. Just only stealing from groups that would misuse pokemon."

"Then maybe, I could come and visit." Wes smiled. **  
**

* * *

"What happened between you and Hoopa?" Rui asked.

Wes just shook his head, "I don't want to talk about it." he muttered. "Besides, I think that story is going to have to wait." He just motioned towards the stairs. Everyone turned to see that Michael had regained consciousness and was standing there.

"Hey, what did I miss?" Michael wondered.

Wes couldn't hold back his emotions. He stood up and just rushed over to Michael, and hugged his younger brother. "You're awake!"

"Hey, bro!" Michael said rather surprised. "You feeling all right?"

"Am I feeling all right? That's the question I should be asking you! Are you feeling okay?" Wes asked.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. A bit hungry though."

Wes just nodded. "All right. Let's get some food fixed up for you."

The two of them left the room, leaving everyone else to just digest Wes' story.

"You said he never mentioned Hoopa before, right?" Zinnia asked.

"Right." Rui said. "I wonder why though?"

"He said to protect it from Shadow Mewtwo." Toon Link said. "But is that the only reason?"

"This Hoopa might be the trump card we need." Mewtwo said. "I've never heard of it, but a legendary pokemon's power isn't to be underestimated."

"I agree." Zinnia said. "Although, I have heard of Hoopa, and it's power is nothing to scoff at. Through it's hoops, it can open portals through space. Transporting anything anywhere. Going by Wes' story, it seems like Gonzap knew about it's power too, since he said it was a pokemon fit for a thief."

"Still, it seems like Wes doesn't want to use it." Red said.

"This just seems troubling." Zoroark muttered. "Hopefully he can be convinced to use Hoopa..."

"Well, I trust that he has his reasons." Rui said. "Now then, I think I'm going to check up on Lucario."

"I'll go with you." Toon Link said.

The two of them got up, and they made their way to the room where Lucario was sleeping. They were hoping that much like Michael's recovery Lucario would be in the same situation. But Lucario on the other hand wasn't doing well at all. He was still unconscious. And as Rui walked into the room she let out a quick gasp. "A dark aura is emanating from him." She said. "He really has become a shadow Pokemon. His heart is closed to us, and he is unable to hear us now..."

"What?" Toon Link said shocked. "Is there anything we can do?"

"The first matter of business should be relocating him outside." Rui explained.

"What for?" Toon link asked.

"He has become a Shadow Pokemon. He is unable to recognize friend from foe, and will most likely attack us, and anything around when he has regained consciousness." Rui explained. "This way, we can fight and subdue him without causing too much collateral damage."

Toon Link just nodded. "Can you go get the others?" He asked. "I'll watch over him, and make sure nothing happens if he does regain consciousness."

Rui nodded, and quickly ran out of the room. A few minutes later she was back with the Smashers and Noah. They quickly carried Lucario outside, while Rui rushed to explain what had happened to Wes.

"This isn't good." Wes muttered looking down at Lucario.

"Can he even be purified with the only known methods being destroyed?" Rui wondered.

"We have that time flute." Zinnia said. "We can use it here."

"But, we were hoping to use it against Shadow Mewtwo..." Wes said. "Once we use it, it will be destroyed."

Red just glanced over at Toon Link. "What about light arrows or the Master Sword? With it's ability to purify evil, it should be able to purify Lucario."

"We can try..." Toon Link said. He just pulled out his bow and loaded in an arrow, chanting a spell.

He fired the arrow, and upon getting close it hit the shadow, and force it away. But it didn't completely purify it.

* * *

Lucario was walking through some thick fog. "Where am I?" He asked himself. He just looked around, but couldn't see anything. There was just thick fog as far as the eye could see. He tried to use aura, but nothing here was giving off aura.

"What is this place?" Lucario asked.

"You failed." A voice laughed. "You can't control mega evolution... Why are you apart of the Smashers?"

Lucario just turned around trying to find the source of the voice. "Who are you?" Lucario shouted.

"You're so weak!" The voice shouted. The fog suddenly became pitch black and consumed everything, leaving Lucario trapped in the darkness. Miraculously a portion of the dark fog suddenly seemed to be blown away. Lucario just took the opportunity and ran towards the light.

"The fools, they're trying to wake you, this will be their undoing... As you kill them all!" The shadows reached for Lucario and ensnared him.

Lucario just let out a scream of pain.

* * *

Lucario was beginning to wake up. He opened his eyes, and the shadow aura around him just began to flare up.

"Everyone get ready!" Rui said.

"Ivysaur, hold him down!" Red ordered.

Ivysaur just tangled up Lucario with it's vines, and tried to hold him down to the ground. However, Lucario just thrashed around, and was proving to be difficult to keep still.

"He really has become a shadow Pokemon." Rui said. "His heart has been closed, and he only knows violence."

"Is there any way to turn him back?" Toon Link asked.

"We can purify him..." Rui said. "As he spends time with us his heart will slowly open. And then, well the aura will get thinner and be able to be purified. It may take a while though."

Toon Link nodded.

Rui just continued looking down at Lucario. "Just, this Shadow Mewtwo worries me. He was able to turn Lucario into a Shadow Pokemon, he might easily be able to make others Pokemon Shadow Pokemon as well."

"So, what should we do?" Noah asked. "Our strategy was to pretty much just face him anyways, and send as many pokemon as we could towards him."

"We have no choice but to face him anyways." Zinnia said. "I don't think it's something he can do regularly. Otherwise he would have used it a lot more in the previous battle."

"I think it was always a risk, and something that we have to be ready for." Wes said.

"Right." Red replied. "And while there might not be any way to purify shadow pokemon here in this world any more, that doesn't mean that there isn't a way to purify them at the Smash Mansion."

"That's right!" Zoroark said. "Master Hand might have a way. So in the meantime, we should just contain Lucario in his Pokeball, right?"

"That seems like a good idea to me!" Toon Link said, bringing out the pokeball. He just aimed it and recalled Lucario. However a moment later it broke open, and Lucario thrashed about, trying to strike them. "Apparently not."

Mewtwo just rushed in front of Lucario and used disable. Suddenly Lucario fell down to the ground rather stiff and unable to move. "Try it again." Mewtwo said.

Toon Link nodded and recalled Lucario. This time, he stayed in the pokeball. They all breathed a sigh of relief and just began to relax.

However that period of relaxation was short lived. They suddenly began to hear a popping and crackling, as though speakers had just been turned on. "Attention people of Orre." Shadow Mewtwo's voice boomed from the sky.

Everyone just looked around. "What now?" Wes muttered.

"The Pokemon you all seek, the one that has destroyed your world, lays weakened in a house in the middle of the desert. Protected by the enemies of humanity."

Everyone just went white. "Shadow Mewtwo..." In their minds they saw an image of Wes' house being projected. They figured it was being projected to every other survivor too.

"If you wish to restore your world back to the way it was, seek them out, and end them!" Shadow Mewtwo said.

The message ended, and everyone looked rather frustrated. "He couldn't destroy us the normal way." Wes sighed. "So he's just getting others to kill us now."

"Wait, what if we look at this another way." Rui suggested. "What if Shadow Mewtwo knew we were getting ready to go and fight him, but he hasn't fully recovered yet, and is just doing this to delay us?"

"But, either way, who's going to honestly believe that?" Toon Link asked.

"Enough people will." Zinnia replied. "You forget, people are desperate and are so lost in despair that they are willing to do anything. If someone says they just need to kill a group of people, they're probably going to believe that."

"So, what can we do?" Noah asked.

"Not a whole lot." Wes replied. "If all these gangs come here... I'd say we have 30 minutes to get out of here at the least. An hour if we're lucky. We can go into the ruins and hide there. But they're going to be searching the area thoroughly, we won't be able to escape, and we have to fight to win."

"Where's Shadow Mewtwo now..." Red said. "We need to beat him..."

"I wish I knew." Mewtwo replied. "He was so quick in delivering that message. He had to of been watching us, and knew that we were distracted by Lucario, I didn't have enough time to prepare and try and track him."

"Crap, we'll worry about that later!" Wes said. "We need to hide! Grab what's important from the house! Food, clothing, water, and maybe a few blankets. Leave everything else behind!"

It was just a stampede towards the house. Everyone was beginning to panic. They just got in, and began scrambling around the house. Noah followed he tried helping get some stuff, but amidst the chaos he just found himself standing in the living room. He just watched as Wes rushed through the room. It soon dawned upon him that they weren't going to make it in time like this. Zoroark rushed through the room however Noah quickly stopped him.

"Zoroark, can you use an illusion or something to hide the house?" Noah asked.

"I could, but if people are looking for it, and are combing the desert enough, they might notice the illusion." Zoroark replied. "We can't just hide it."

"Then, what if we destroy all the evidence that there was ever anything here to begin with?" Noah suggested. "You'll be without a house, but it could make everyone else start questioning if this was the right area and move on if there was no house here."

"Are you suggesting we burn down the house?" Wes wondered.

"Yes." Noah replied.

There was just silence. "We can't do that..." Rui said.

"It's either you destroy it, or someone else destroys it." Mewtwo replied. "Not to mention if they destroy it, they'll know you might be hiding around. We're enemies to all of humanity now."

"Still destroying all our personal items..."

"They can be replaced." Wes said. "We can't."

"Actually there's another way..." Pikachu spoke up. Everyone just glanced at the mouse.

"WHAT?!" Wes, Rui, and Michael shouted out surprised.

"That Pikachu is talking?!"

"They all can talk." Red said.

"We just chose not to talk because it would take to long explain everything." Jigglypuff replied. "Although, it's more like we've just had magic applied to us, and you're just hearing everything translated into whatever language you speak."

"Listen, Noah, since you're allied with Oren, you can use his ability for storage." Pikachu said. "All the items in the house can be put away and stored in a pocket dimension with that power. Including the house, and the piping."

Noah just nodded. "All right, I can do that then!"

Wes just glanced at a clock. He estimated that about 10 minutes had passed. "Well, we have one chance to try this then, if it doesn't work, we're fleeing with what we've got on our backs and in our hands, got it?"

"Right!" Everyone said.

"Okay the best place to do this is outside." Pikachu said.

As they were walking through the house, Noah picked up Pikachu and asked, "So we all have access to our allies abilities?"

"Yep." Pikachu replied. "As long as you're still allied with them. Of course you still have all the limitations that they have, and I think it might be slightly weaker too."

Noah nodded. They got outside and Pikachu just directed Noah to open up the 3DS, and walked him through how to activate Oren's ability. A folder suddenly appeared in front of Noah. He just opened it towards the house, and a few seconds later the house had teleported away. The file folder appeared on the ground, and in it was a piece of paper with a picture of the house on it. The file folder then disappeared.

"All right..." Noah weakly said. He suddenly felt exhausted and staggered forwards before tripping on a rock on the ground. Michael just caught him.

"Now we need to get out of here." Wes said. He took Noah from his brother's arms. "All right, let's go to the ruins!"

The group quickly made it to the entrance of the ruins. They got inside, and Wes laid Noah down against a wall. They just began to relax and try to catch their breath.

"It seems like using the power puts some strain on your body." Red said.

Noah just weakly nodded. "I wasn't expecting that to happen."

"Well, you were transporting a house." Mewtwo said. "The bigger the object to teleport, the more strain it puts on you."

Soon the relief that the plan worked, and that they had made it to the ruins was replaced with worry. They still could be found. Wes went out of the ruins to keep watch. A few groups passed by. A few stopped, questioning if this was the place, but upon not finding a house, or even remains, they just continued on through the desert.

"Why hasn't Shadow Mewtwo told them what we did?" Wes questioned.

Mewtwo just leaned against the cave wall. "My guess is, he isn't as all powerful as we thought. Broadcasting that message to everyone, might of made him exhausted and used the last bit of his strength."

"I hope so." Wes sighed. "Any idea where he is now?"

Mewtwo just nodded. "Since he broadcast that message, I've been trying to focus on it, and locating him. And now, I have a small idea. I think I can sense him and the general direction he is hiding in."

Wes just looked up surprised. "What? Really?!" He said.

Mewtwo nodded and just pointed in a direction. Wes took a few seconds to think about it. "The only thing that way is... Mt. Battle."

"Mt. Battle?" Mewtwo questioned.

"A place were trainers fight." Wes replied. "If you can climb up all 100 levels..."

"That sounds incredibly tedious, who on earth would do that?" Pikachu wondered.

"Well, rumor had it that if you did manage it with a single team, you could get a Ho-oh." Wes replied. "But those were just rumors, no idea if they were true."

Mewtwo just closed his eyes and concentrated. "Mt. Battle, I'll try and focus on that then." He said.

* * *

Shadow Mewtwo was recovering. A dark aura was around him and had formed a protective sphere. He just basked himself in the darkness. "I must defeat the Smashers." Shadow Mewtwo repeated to himself.

"I will give you the power to do that." A voice said.

Shadow Mewtwo didn't even question it. "Give it to me!"

"I will bring out your full power." The voice laughed. "It's up to you to do everything else."

The dark aura around him pulsed, and Shadow Mewtwo began to let off a constant scream.**  
**

* * *

"I've found him!" Mewtwo said. "He is there on Mt. Battle!"

"So, now that we've confirmed his location, I say we rest for the night." Wes said. "By the time we wake up in the morning, no one should be searching for us anymore."

"Hopefully that's the case." Pikachu said.

Wes just glanced at Pikachu and the other Pokemon. "No matter how many times I hear it, it still creeps me out."

"I think it's kind of cool!" Michael said. "I mean how often do you get to hear what Pokemon are saying?"

"All the time with a Pokemon with telepathy." Wes laughed.

They waited. Occasionally Wes would go out and check, there were a few more groups of people that were there, and they were searching the desert rather diligently. He made his way back into the ruins and they decided it was best if they relocated deeper in the ruins.

As they reached the next chamber, and sealed it Michael suddenly collapsed onto the ground. Wes rushed over to his brother, and was rather shocked to find how damp his clothes were. "What the?!" He quickly tended to his brother.

After a few minutes Michael was now topless. He was lying on a mat, and had a cold wet towel on his forehead. Much to their horror there was what appeared to be a bruise across his body. It appeared to slowly be crawling up his body and reaching for his neck.

Michael was just gasping for air. Rui was looking rather grim. The dark aura was spreading across his body.

"It seems that attack from Shadow Mewtwo had some lasting effects." Mewtwo said. "Could he slowly be transforming into a shadow human?"

"Don't even suggest such things!" Wes snapped.

"I think it might be a possibility." Zinnia said. "That attack was meant for Mewtwo, and most likely he was trying to turn him into another Shadow Mewtwo."

Mewtwo just nodded. "And you don't know how the same process could affect a human, right?"

"As far as I know, the shadow pokemon project was never used on humans." Wes replied. "I really don't want to think about it though..."

"A shadow pokemon closes their hearts and becomes a fighting machine." Rui said. "I don't want to know what happens to a human either..."

Wes just pounded his fist against the wall. He looked incredibly frustrated. "Damn it." Wes just looked at the Smashers. "I'll do whatever I can to save my brother. Michael and Jovi, they're the only family I have left... I don't know what would happen if I lost them."

"Then I guess we better go to Mt. Battle and beat Shadow Mewtwo." Pikachu siad. "And this time, we're fighting with you!"

Mewtwo just nodded. "Shadow Mewtwo is too dangerous. I can't face him alone, I know that now. We need a plan if we're going to face him again."

"Sadly I don't have much for a plan." Wes said.

"And there's not a whole lot we can plan for, since well, he can turn any pokemon into a shadow Pokemon instantly." Rui said. "In fact, I'd say the best course of action would be for the majority of you to stay away, and have Mewtwo fight him alone again."

Everyone just looked at Rui shocked. "You can't be serious!" Pikachu said.

"Just look at what happened with Lucario." Rui said. "His heart is now closed, you can't reach him, all he knows is violence. It might be different if you could activate this Break power, that repels the shadows, but as it is right now, it's dangerous for you to confront Shadow Mewtwo."

"Then what can we do?" Jigglypuff asked.

"I don't know." Rui replied. "I really don't."

Zinnia stood up, "Argh!" She shouted. "I can't take this anymore. I'm going to go look at the ruins, and see if there are any other notes that we may have missed, on hints on defeating Shadow Mewtwo."

Noah stood up, "I'm going to go with you as well." He said.

"Are you well enough too?" Zinnia wondered.

"Yeah, I feel like I've got some energy back." Noah replied.

"Nin." Greninja added on.

"And it seems like Greninja has our back."

"I think I'm going to move around too." Toon Link added on. "Sorry, but staying here in this room is too stuffy, you know?"

"Fine by me." Zinnia said, "all right, let's go."

They made their way through the ruins, occasionally going down a different path, searching for something. But they only found traps that had already been activated and claimed the life of someone, or dead ends.

They reached another dead end, however Toon Link just froze and stared at it. "What are you waiting for, it's a dead end."

"No, there's something behind the wall!" Toon Link said. "I can feel small breeze." He just began pushing against the wall, looking for something. "I'm positive there's a chamber behind this wall."

"But how do we get in?" Zinnia asked. "We can't be rash, or we'd risk destroying what's in it."

Toon Link just looked a bit disappointed. "Normally I just blow walls like this up, but that's not an option this time."

Greninja just walked over towards the wall, a blade of water appeared on it's arm and it just cut right through the rock wall, creating a hole that Zinnia, Noah, and Toon Link entered. "Thank you Greninja." Noah said.

"Nin."

Across the walls there were more murals. they observed that there were no other entrances into the room. "Interesting. Seems like that wall was the only way in."

"Makes you think how many other rooms there are like this hidden in these ruins." Toon Link laughed.

Zinnia just focused her attention on the murals, and began to decode the writing on the wall. "Interesting." She said.

Noah and Toon Link just glanced at her. "What did you find out?" Noah asked.

"A way to preform Break?" Toon Link wondered.

"Something else." Zinnia replied. "A mention of a different power, something called Bond Phenomenon."

"Bond Phenomenon?" Toon Link asked.

"An ability where the trainer and pokemon join their strength to become one." Zinnia replied. "It says that it's achieved when both trainer and pokemon completely trust one another. It seems like it doesn't require any tools like Mega Evolution, but it might be harder to achieve. It says that even among species that have been documented to use it, it's still very rare."

"And are there any species that it does say?" Noah wondered.

"Unfortunately not." Zinnia replied.

"Oh," Noah said rather disappointed. "I was kind of hoping some of the Smashers could achieve it."

"Who knows." Toon Link laughed. "It would be great though, seeing as how every bit of power might be helpful for this fight."

"Nin." Greninja nodded in agreement.

"I'm wondering though, what does this 'becoming one' mean?" Noah asked. "Does the trainer and Pokemon fuse?"

"I don't know." Zinnia replied. "It doesn't say."

Toon Link just thought about it. "Becoming one, hmm... Maybe it means like with a swordsman and their sword, how with a master swordsman, the sword is just an extension of their body, and they work as one."

"But how is that any different from a normal Pokemon battle?" Noah wondered.

"I don't know." Toon Link sighed. "Maybe we should ask Red."

Zinnia just got up from trying to decode the wall. "Perhaps, well you'll have plenty of time to debate the meaning of the words as we try and find some more ruins. And who knows, perhaps there is more where this Bond Phenomenon is explained."

However their search was fruitless and they eventually got back to the main chamber that they were staying in. Rui, Wes, and Jovi had gone to sleep. Mewtwo was just currently standing guard.

"Welcome back." Mewtwo said. "Wes said we'll set off in the morning. Get some rest."

Noah nodded. He grabbed a few blankets and leaned against a wall. Toon Link followed suit. And soon they were all mostly asleep.

Mewtwo just let off a small sigh. "What a day..." He said. "Shadow Mewtwo, when we fight once again, it will be different! I won't let you corrupt any one else. I will defeat you!"

With renewed vows, Mewtwo just returned to looking out, and making sure no one found the ruins.

* * *

Palutena was watching Magnus' progress. So far he had reached the 30th challenge with ease. But it was easy to see that he was beginning to slow down as the rings began to add more and more weight. She just began to hope that Magnus would succeed. "No, he will succeed. He was able to fight evenly with Pit before." She thought. However her thought's were interrupted by a centurion rushing in.

"Lady Palutena, we have a situation."

"What is it?" She asked.

"Hades, he's on the move."

"But how?" Palutena wondered. "He shouldn't have been able to escape from the underworld. It's sealed..."

"He's using an astral projection."

Palutena just froze and thought about it. "To do what?"

"We believe that he's going to go see the Oracle of Delphi."

"But why, that makes no sense..." Palutena muttered.

"Should you go check up on him?"

"The oracle's duty is to remain neutral." Palutena replied. "Hades also knows that he can not harm her without drastic consequences from the other Gods... Besides, all he can do right now is just be an astral projection. He is unable to actually physically be there due to the underworld being sealed, so no harm will come of her. However... I am curious of what she will say."

Palutena just got up and teleported away. The Centurion however had a rather big smile across his face.

* * *

Magnus had made it to the next level and quickly got rid of the centurion there, and collected the ring. He just froze and looked around. "I know you're all watching me, you can come out."

Numerous centurions, strong arm centurions, and centurion knights just flew into the area. They aimed their bows, and spears right at Magnus.

"Let me guess." Magnus said. "More of you guys are jealous that Palutena is training a lowly human. Well, let's get this over with! You guys aren't even a challenge to me!"

Magnus just dashed forwards towards the group of centurions.

* * *

Hades had sent his astral projection to a temple. For whatever reason one could not teleport, or send an astral projection directly to this temple. He had to appear a distance away and fly to it. Now having arrived, he set his projection on the ground and began to walk through the temple.

"I know you would be coming here." A voice said. "Hades, lord of the underworld."

Hades just walked towards a priestess who was sitting in front of a pedestal. "If you didn't, I'd have to question your ability as an oracle." Hades said. "So, obviously, you know why I'm here."

"Indeed." The Oracle said. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Don't you already know my answer?"

The oracle just nodded. "Indeed, I do. Your choice here has the ability to bring about two paths. Being able to see the future is isn't always a good thing. You could try and prevent the future that you envisioned, but ironically start down that path, and are unable to do anything until it's too late. For instance, have you heard of the god Zanza? He was ruled by his ability to see the future, and will be slain by those who understand that the future they see is not set in stone, but only one of the many branching possibilities."

Hades just glared at the priestess. "If you're trying to deter me, I won't be changing my mind."

"So this is your decision." She sighed. "Very well."

She walked towards the pool of water, closed her eyes, and just concentrated. The air seemed to be getting colder, the pool of water was constantly rippling from an unseen force.

"I have seen your future." She said. "This is your last chance to back out now."

Hades just stood there. "I want to know."

"Very well. You begin what you've started and you will be killed by an agent of Zenith. That is what I have seen." The Priestess said.

Hades just laughed. "So that's it? No fancy, hard to interpret, rhyme?"

The Priestess just motioned over to the pool of water, and the vision began to play out. Hades just watched as the events occurred. Ending with him being stabbed in the back.

"How amusing. Not even the Smashers can kill me." Hades laughed.

"Interpret it however you will..." The Priestess said. "Now then, if that is all you request of me, I ask that you leave."

Hades just smiled. "Of course."

Hades walked out of the temple, and standing there waiting for him was Palutena. She just had her staff in front of her.

"Fancy meeting you here, Pretty Palutena." Hades laughed. "Not that you can do anything to this astral projection. Why are you here?"

"Let's just say, I'm a bit curious about your divination." Palutena replied.

Hades just laughed. "Is that it? I am now walking down the path to my own death. Tell me Pretty Palutena, does that amuse you?" Hades wondered.

"Not really." Palutena said. "It will throw off the balance of the gods even more."

Hades just laughed. "Is that it? Well, I guess you would care about that... Ah well, the precious balance you care so much about will be destroyed soon, I'm finding a way to break through without the underworld key. And there is nothing you can do on this side. So either open the way and try to stop me, or I'll force my way out with results quite possibly even worse than if I just had free access."

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"Yes. I'm using a chaos seed to break open the seal."

Palutena glared at Hades. "Hades, I will stop you!"

"Just try." Hades said as his astral projection vanished. Deciding to not stick around, Palutena returned back to her temple.

* * *

She had teleported back into her temple and just looked back towards Magnus who was still climbing and doing the 77 rings challenge.

"Welcome back, Lady Palutena." The centurion said.

She just looked back at him. "Now, is there anything else that you're going to try and distract me with so I'm not paying attention to Magnus' training?" Palutena wondered.

The Centurion was terrified. "What!?"

"It really wasn't that hard to figure out." Palutena said. "I decided just to let it go, and see what happened because if he couldn't deal with a small hitch like that, he would never complete the 77 rings. Needless to say it will be a while until I decide to reincarnate them. You will also be punished."

The Centurion was just shaking in fear.

"Do you have anything else to report?" Palutena wondered.

"There is something else..." the centurion said. "A village just suddenly appeared..."

Palutena closed her eyes and tried to focus on this village. "What's this? This village isn't from our world!? It's from Hyrule?! But... Could this be because of Hades and the chaos seed?"

* * *

No one in the village was aware that they had just been warped through time and space. Currently all the inhabitants of it were blissfully sleeping.

A young girl who was dressed in a white nightgown and had a night cap on her head was no exception. She was sleeping rather peacefully, unaware that her life was about to change, and she was about to be thrown into something much, much bigger than her simple life of being a cucco farmer.

As she was enjoying sleep, a memento from her late grandmother began to illuminate. It shined with such ferocity that the light pierced through the chest that it was in, and all the fabric that was around it, that protected it.

She opened her eyes to see the bright light, shining out of the cracks between the plans in the wooden chest. She rushed over to it, and opened the chest causing more light to burst out and illuminate the room. "Grandma's Compass!" She said a bit shocked. As soon as she touched the compass, the light stopped.

"What just happened Grandma?"

She just put the memento down and went back to bed. Occasionally she would glance over at the chest from her covers, expecting it to glow once again, but nothing happened. Eventually she fell back asleep and dreamed of the time spent with her late grandmother.

* * *

"Linkle, you can be a hero, just like many of the other great heroes." Her grandmother said. She always remembered her grandmother sitting on her favorite rocking chair with a blanket over her legs, right by a nearby fire.

Linkle enjoyed her grandmother's company, and the stories that she was told. Stories of a land in the sky and a demon lord. Stories of small people that only children could see. The story of the king of evil who conquered Hyrule, and the brave heroes who emerged each time cloaked in green.

But several years later, her grandmother's health began to deteriorate. Knowing that she didn't have long for the world, Linkle's Grandmother called her to her bedside and handed her an object.

"Linkle, take this compass." Her grandmother said. "One day it will show you the way. I know you will be a hero."

"Thank you Grandma!"

And soon after, her grandmother had passed away peacefully in her sleep.

* * *

The compass briefly glowed once again. This time the girl didn't wake up. She just continued to sleep, blissfully unaware of the oncoming danger, or her changing fate.

* * *

**File 1**

**Do you want to save?**

**YES**

**Party: Noah, Lucario, Zoroark, Greninja, Red, Charizard, Ivysaur, Squirtle, Toon Link, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pichu, Mewtwo, Wes, Michael, Rui, Jovi, Zinnia  
**

**7 Chosen Champions Remain**

* * *

**Next chapter: Recollections of Shadows or Wes and Hoopa's Bizarre Adventure**

**Notes:**

**Bond Phenomenon is the name of the ability/power that brought Ash-Greninja in the anime. When writing this, only the Japanese Anime had named the form, but going by the Sun and Moon website, it's the same name in English.  
**

**The name for Ash-Greninja has been revealed officially as Ash-Greninja... which I kind of think is stupid, since while in the anime it's brought on between the bond between Ash and Greninja... It's not really the same thing in the games, where it's the players who's not really Ash. I would of liked something like Bond Form, or something like that. That and it was a nickname made up by Eureka/Bonnie. I was planning on using it sometime in the story, and it might be just referred to as Bond Greninja then.  
**

**My personal head canon is that Ash was as annoyed as everyone else at the writers for that league match, and because he was the first to discover it, he got to name it, and the name is just a giant middle finger to everyone. **

**Thunder Armor: One of the biggest Deus ex Machina's in the anime from the Mossdeep gym battle back in Hoenn. Pikachu used thunder on itself and Swellow to cover themselves in golden armor or something. **

**Linkle: A character from Hyrule Warriors Legends. Believes herself to be the reincarnation of the legendary hero.  
**


End file.
